Ekspress-AM22 (, meaning ''Express-AM22'') is a Russian
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...
. It belongs to the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) based in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia.
Eutelsat SESAT-2
The satellite has a total of 24 transponders, 12 of which are referred to as SESAT-2, and are leased to
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...
by the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC). The remaining 12 transponders, with domestic coverage of the Russian Federation, are commercialised by the RSCC under the name Ekspress-AM22.
Launch
Ekspress-AM22 was launched by
, using a
Proton-K
The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, was a Russian, previously Soviet, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton. It was built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81/23, 8 ...
/
DM-02 launch vehicle
A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
. The launch took place at 23:00:00
UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
on 28 December 2003, from
Site 200/39 at
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
.
Successfully deployed into
geostationary transfer orbit
In space mission design, a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or geosynchronous transfer orbit is a highly elliptical type of geocentric orbit, usually with a perigee as low as low Earth orbit (LEO) and an apogee as high as geostationary orbit ...
(GTO), Ekspress-AM22 raised itself into an operational geostationary orbit using its
apogee motor.
Mission
The satellite can be received in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the most part of Russia. The transfer takes place in the
Ku-band
The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally ), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K band ...
. Since the launch of
Ekspress-AM6
Ekspress-AM6 ( meaning ''Express-AM6'') is a Russian communications satellite which was launched in 2014. The satellite has replaced the older Ekspress-AM22, at 53° East. Part of the Ekspress series of Geostationary orbit, geostationary commun ...
, Ekspress-AM22 has been moved to a new orbit at 80.0° East.
References
Ekspress satellites
Spacecraft launched in 2003
2003 in Russia
Satellites using the KAUR bus
Eutelsat satellites
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Spacecraft launched by Proton rockets
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