Gorizont 33 ( meaning "Horizon 33"), also known as Gorizont 45L was 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 ...
operated by
Kosmicheskiya Svyaz (RSCC). It was the last satellite to be launched as part of the
Gorizont
Gorizont (, ), GRAU index 11F662, was a series of 35 Russian, previously Soviet, geosynchronous communications satellites launched between 1978 and 2000. The program was started in order to develop a satellite system to relay coverage of the 1 ...
constellation. Constructed by
NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki
JSC Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev () is a Russian satellite manufacturing company. It is based in the closed city of Krasnoyarsk-26 (today called Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Zheleznogorsk), Krasnoyarsk Krai near the city of Krasnoya ...
(NPO PM), it was based on the
KAUR-3 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 ...
. Its launch was contracted by
, using a
Proton-K /
Briz-M
The Briz-K, Briz-KM and Briz-M ( meaning ''Breeze-K, KM and M'') are Russian liquid-propellant rocket orbit insertion upper stages manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on the Proton-M and Angara A5. T ...
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 ...
.
Launch
The launch occurred at 02:59:00
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 6 June 2000 from
Site 81/24 at the
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 ...
. This was the first successful launch of a Proton with a Briz-M upper stage, and as the previous Proton/Briz-M launch failed during the second stage burn, on 5 July 1999, the first firing of a Briz-M in flight.
The Proton itself flew with uprated engines, increasing its payload capacity ahead of the launch of
Zvezda, a little over a month later, on 12 July 2000. The launch was conducted as a test flight of the Proton, and the satellite would not have been considered a significant loss if it had not reached orbit.
Mission
Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in
geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...
at 145° East,
from where it provides communications services to Russia.
It carried seven
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 ...
, and had an expected on-orbit lifespan of three years.
Its stabilisation system failed in March 2008, leaving the satellite drifting at a rate of 0.3° West per day, eight years after it had been launched.
References
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Gorizont satellites
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