Yuri, also known as Broadcasting Satellite or BS, was a series of Japanese
direct broadcast satellites.
The first satellite of this series, called BSE or Yuri 1, was launched in 1978. The last BS series satellite, BS-3b (Yuri 3b), was launched in 1991.
Early models
The 350 kg BSE was followed in 1984 and 1986 by the operational and essentially identical BS-2a and BS-2b satellites, respectively. Each spacecraft carried two active and one spare 100 W. 14/12 GHz
transponder. Built by
EURO with assistance from
ASR, the BS-2 series satellites were designed for five years of operation. BS-2a was moved to a
graveyard orbit in 1989, as was BS-2b in 1992.
BS satellites
BS satellites were used for
Direct-To-Home television services in Japan. Japanese
satellite television, which uses an analog
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
, started with test broadcasts carried out by the semigovernmental
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) in 1984. At the time, direct satellite TV reception (DTH) was obtainable with a small parabolic
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
40 cm to 60 cm in diameter in all areas of Japan when broadcast from a
geostationary
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...
earth orbit (GEO) at 110
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
s east longitude. All BS satellites were of the same basic configuration: 3-
axis stabilization of a rectangular
satellite bus with two elongated
solar arrays.
After the first successful test of satellite broadcasting with a TV signal, many Japanese producers of consumer electronics began to deliver a range of equipment with built-in
satellite receivers for the local consumer market. This included the
Satellaview satellite modem peripheral for
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
's
Super Famicom system, as well as
satellite television and
satellite radio
Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a ''broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than ter ...
services for the Japanese market.
Eventually, the satellites of the BS series were replaced by the more advanced
B-Sat series.
Satellites
References
External links
{{Portal, Spaceflight
BS-Japan and Satellite Communication ServicesBroadcasting Satellite 2Broadcasting Satellite 3
Satellites of Japan
Direct broadcast satellite services