JCSAT-4B, known as JCSAT-13 (formerly known as Lippostar-1) before launch, is 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 altitud ...

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

SKY Perfect JSAT Group The SKY Perfect JSAT Group is a Japanese corporate group that claims to be Asia's largest satellite communication and multi-channel pay TV company. It owns the SKY PerfecTV! satellite broadcasting service and the SKY Perfect Well Think content s ...

(JSAT). It was designed and manufactured by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

on the

A2100 The A2100 is a model of communications satellite spacecraft made by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. It is used as the foundation for telecommunications payloads in geosynchronous orbit, as well as GOES-R weather satellites and GPS Block IIIA satell ...

platform.

Satellite description

The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by

on the

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 ...

. It had a launch mass of and a 15-year design life. Like most satellites based on the A2100 platform, it uses a LEROS-1C

LAE Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...

for

orbit raising In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

. Its payload comprises thirty-two 27 MHz and twelve 36 MHz K_u 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 ...

for a total bandwidth of 1.296 GHz. The satellite is used primarily for multi-channel pay per view business. Besides the main beam, two steerable beams enable it to reconfigure its orbit services. It's mainly used for broadcasting digital television channels. It has two fixed beams, the ''Japan Beam'' and the ''South East Asia Beam''. The former offers coverage from the Middle and Near East through South West Asia, South East Asia, and Oceania, whereas the latter covers Indonesia and Malaysia. In addition to the two fixed beams, it offers two steerable beams to cover zones where demands have surpassed the fixed beam capacity.

History

On April 16, 2009, JSAT made its seventh order for an A2100-based satellite from Lockheed, the JCSAT-13 and Lippostar-1. It would feature 44 K_u band transponders with two steerable antennas for on-orbit reconfiguration. It was to be launched in 2013 for the 124°East slot, which would replace JCSAT-4A. The next day, April 17,

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a Small-lift launch vehicle, small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a Medium-lift launch vehicl ...

announced they had secured the contract to launch JCSAT-13 on an

Ariane 5 ECA Ariane 5 is a retired European Heavy-lift launch vehicle, heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was launched from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana. It was used to deliver p ...

. On March 23, 2012, JSAT announced that the expected launch date for JCSAT-13 was May 15, and it would replace JCSAT-4A at the 124° East slot to offer the ''SKY PerfecTV!'' digital broadcasting service. As scheduled, on May 15 at 22:13

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 ...

, an Ariane 5 ECA successfully launched JCSAT-13 and Vinasat-2 to a

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 ...

. JCSAT-13 separated from the top berth at 22:39 UTC, and first signals were acquired at 23:20 UTC. After the launch success, JCSAT-13 was renamed JCSAT-4B. On the same day of the launch, JSAT announced an agreement with the

Lippo Group Lippo Group is an Indonesian multinational conglomerate company. The company operates internationally providing property development and management services. It was founded by Mochtar Riady. Lippo has a collective presence across Asia and No ...

to use JCSAT-4B to offer a direct-to-home satellite TV broadcast service across Indonesia. After reaching the 124°East, it was commissioned into service on July 10, replacing JCSAT-4A.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2012 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the A2100 bus Spacecraft launched in 2012 Communications satellites of Japan Satellites of Japan