The ''Morelos'' satellites are a series of
Mexican 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 ...
s. The first two operated between 1985 and 1998 and provided telephony, data, and television services over the territory of the Mexican Republic and adjacent areas. The third is now part of the
MEXSAT constellation (sister ship of the MEXSAT-1 lost during launch) but carries the ''Morelos'' name.
The original ''Morelos'' satellites were replaced by the
Solidaridad Satellite System (''Solidaridad I'', launched 17 November 1993, and ''Solidaridad 2'', launched 17 October 1994) and, following privatisation, by the
Satmex Satellite System.
Satellites
Morelos I
Morelos I was Mexico's first communications satellite. It was built and put into orbit under a contract from the
Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT), the federal ministry responsible for the nation's communications systems.
''Morelos I'', a
Hughes Aircraft Corporation
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace company, aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes ...
HS-376
The Boeing 376 (sometimes referred to as the BSS-376, and previously as the HS-376) is a communications satellite bus introduced in 1978 by Hughes Space and Communications Company. It was a spin-stabilized bus, a successor to Hughes HS-333.
...
, was launched by the U.S.
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
''
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discovery ...
'' (mission
STS-51-G) on 17 June 1985 and entered
geostationary orbit
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 orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...
at 113° W on 17 December 1985.
Morelos II
Morelos II was launched in November 1985 and remained in service until July 1998. Built by the Hughes Aircraft Corporation for the SCT, it was launched by the Space Shuttle ''
Atlantis
Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...
'' on 27 November 1985; the mission,
STS-61-B
STS-61-B was the 23rd NASA Space Shuttle mission, and its second using Space Shuttle ''Space Shuttle Atlantis, Atlantis''. The shuttle was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 26, 1985. During STS-61-B, the shuttle crew depl ...
, included
Mexican-born astronaut
Rodolfo Neri Vela as a payload specialist in its crew. ''Morelos II'' held a geostationary orbit at 116.8° W.
Morelos III
Morelos III (originally
MEXSAT 2) was launched on 2 October 2015 at 10:28 UTC on ''
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and has been operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA) since 2006. Primarily used to ...
'' 421 AV-059 and the 100th launch by the
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets ...
. The spacecraft is designed to provide L-band services to mobile 3G+ users and armed forces via a deployable 22m
Herschelian antenna dish with RF transceivers. It also has a 2m Ku-band dish of fixed geometry with a much simpler deployment sequence. The spacecraft is a
Boeing
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
702HP GeoMobile spacecraft bus equipped with an RD-4 main engine for completing its ascent to geostationary orbit at 113° W from an ascent orbit of 4750 by 35800km inclined at 27° following the now-typical long duration two-burn profile of the ''Atlas V''. It was originally intended to serve with the similar MEXSAT-1 ''Centenario'' spacecraft (which would have been at 116° W) lost during the 3rd stage failure of the 406th
Proton
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
, a launch vehicle of Proton-M/Briz-M configuration.
Gallery
See also
*
1985 in spaceflight
The following is an outline of 1985 in spaceflight.
Overview First ''Atlantis'' flight
Orbital launches
, colspan=8 style="background:white;",
January
, -
, colspan=8 style="background:white;",
Feb ...
*
Satmex
*
Telecommunications in Mexico
Mass media in Mexico are regulated by the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation (''Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes or SCT''), a federal executive cabinet ministry and by the Federal Telecommunications Institute (''Ins ...
*
Mexsat
References
External links
Morelos(
Boeing
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
)
Morelos II(
Satmex)
Morelos-3 Launch images, Oct 2, 2015 @ 6:28 am EDT
{{Orbital launches in 2015
Telecommunications in Mexico
Communications satellite constellations
First artificial satellites of a country
Satellites of Mexico
Spacecraft launched in 1985