Ekspress-AT1 () is a Russian Direct-To-Home broadcasting satellite which was launched on 15 March 2014. Part of the

Ekspress Ekspress ( meaning Express), is a series of geostationary communications satellites owned by Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC). The first satellite of this kind was launched on 13 October 1994. The satellites are produced by the ...

series of

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 altitud ...

communications satellites, it is owned and operated by the

Russian Satellite Communications Company Federal State Unitary Enterprise State Transport Company Rossiya, Federal State Unitary Enterprise Communications satellite, Satellite Communications () or Russian Satellite Communications Company is the main state operator of communications s ...

(RSCC).

Satellite description

It is based on the Ekspress-1000H

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

manufactured by ISS Reshetnev. Its mass at launch is , and the power allocated to the payload is about 5.880 kW. The satellite carries 32

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 ...

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

, providing

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Central Russia Central Russia is, broadly, the various areas in European Russia. Historically, the area of Central Russia varied based on the purpose for which it is being used. It may, for example, refer to European Russia (except the North Caucasus and ...

, as well as

and

Central Siberia The Central Siberian Plateau (; ) is a vast mountainous area in Siberia, one of the Great Russian Regions. Geography The plateau occupies a great part of central Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It is located in the Siberian Plat ...

, and almost all of

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 ...

. The planned service life of the satellite is at least 15 years.

Launch

It was launched, with Ekspress-AT2 communications satellite, on 15 March 2014 at 23:08:00

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 ...

, from

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 ...

at Site 81/24 in the framework of Russian Federal Space Program for 2006–2015, approved by the Government Decree No. 635 signed on 22 October 2005 by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Mikhail Fradkov Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov ( rus, Михаи́л Ефи́мович Фрадко́в, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ frɐtˈkof; born 1 September 1950) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 2004 to 2007. An Ind ...

Mission

Express-AT1 was launched into orbit on 15 March 2014. The commercial operation of the satellite started on 22 April 2014.

References

External links

* Ekspress satellites Spacecraft launched in 2014 Satellites using the Ekspress bus 2014 in Russia {{Russia-spacecraft-stub