The Nimiq satellites are a Canadian fleet 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 ...

telecommunications satellites owned by

Telesat Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company (law), company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa. History Founding and privatization (1969-2005) Telesat began in 1969 as Telesat C ...

and used by satellite television providers including

Bell Satellite TV Bell Satellite TV (; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television service a ...

and

EchoStar EchoStar Corporation is an American telecommunications company, specializing in satellite communication, wireless telecommunications, and internet services. Echostar also provides multichannel video programming and mobile services through its ...

(

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

). 'Nimiq' is an

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

word used for an object or a force which binds things together. A contest in 1998 was held to choose the name of these satellites. The contest drew over 36,000 entries. Sheila Rogers, a physiotherapist from Nepean, Ontario, submitted the winning name. Nimiq Winner

Nimiq-1

Nimiq-1 was launched on 21 May 1999 by 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 ...

/ Blok DM-03 launch vehicle 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 ...

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 ...

. It was Canada's first direct broadcast digital TV satellite and was paid for by

, a Canadian communications company and subsidiary of

Bell Canada Enterprises BCE Inc., an abbreviation of its former name Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell ...

. * Manufacturer:

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 ...

* Satellite Type:

, A2100AX * Weight: * Dimensions: 5.8 x 2.4 x 2.4 m and a 27 m² solar array * DC power: 120 W * Expected lifetime: 12 years * Transponders: 32 * Vehicle:

/ Blok DM3

Nimiq-2

Nimiq 2, launched on 29 December 2002 on a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle, includes 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. Nimiq 2 provides additional bandwidth for

High-definition television High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

(HDTV) and interactive television applications. On 20 February 2003, Nimiq-2 experienced a partial power failure and as such can only power 26 of its 32 Ku-band transponders. Nimiq 2's orbital slot, 123° West longitude, was changed to 91.61° East longitude during June 2019.

Nimiq-3, -4i and -4iR

Nimiq-3 and Nimiq-4i were leased by

from DirecTV Inc. when they were already in orbit. Originally called '' Direct-TV3'' and ''Direct-TV2'' respectively, these Hughes HS-601 models were brought out of retirement and are currently used to share some of the workload from ''Nimiq-2'' and ''Nimiq-1'', respectively. They went online in Bell TV's stead in 2004 and 2006. Nimiq-4i ran out of fuel and was replaced by Nimiq-4iR on 28 April 2007.

Nimiq-4

Nimiq-4 was launched on 19 September 2008, by a

Proton-M The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or , is an Expendable launch system, expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet Union, Soviet-developed Proton (rocket family), Proton. It is built by Khrunichev State R ...

/ Briz M rocket from

in Kazakhstan. It will replace Nimiq-4i, and will provide advanced services such as

HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...

, specialty channels and foreign language programming. * Manufacturer:

EADS Astrium Astrium was a European aerospace company and subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), headquartered in Paris. It designed, developed and manufactured civil and military space systems and provided related services ...

* Satellite type:

Astrium Astrium was a European aerospace company and subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), headquartered in Paris. It designed, developed and manufactured civil and military space systems and provided related services ...

Eurostar E3000S * Weight: * Dimensions: 39 metres solar array span * Power: 12 kW at end of life * Expected lifetime: 15 years * Transponders: 32 Ku-band, and 8 in Ka-band * Vehicle:

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 ...

* Location: 82.0 West

Nimiq-5

In 2009, Telesat announced plans to build and launch its 19th satellite, Nimiq-5. It selected

International Launch Services International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) is a joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Angara and Proton rocket launch services. Proton launches take place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan while Angara is l ...

(ILS) for the launch of the Nimiq-5 satellite in 2009.

Space Systems/Loral SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial cust ...

has been selected as the manufacturer for Nimiq-5.

is expected to lease all of the 32

transponder payload. The satellite will be located at 72.7° West longitude. The satellite's manufacturing plan also includes contracts with the Canadian satellite industry, including multiplexers and switches from Com Dev International Ltd. and antennas from MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, Ltd (MDA Ltd). The Nimiq-5 satellite was shipped from the manufacturer, Space Systems Loral located in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

, to the

in Kazakhstan, on 18 August 2009.

Telesat Canada Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa. History Founding and privatization (1969-2005) Telesat began in 1969 as Telesat Canada, a Canad ...

contracted with

(ILS) in April 2007 for the launch of Nimiq-5 by an ILS

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 ...

. Nimiq-5 was successfully launched into space aboard a Proton M / Breeze M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 19:19:19

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 17 September 2009.

Nimiq-6

Satellite has been be fully leased for its lifetime by

which will use it to service

direct-to-home 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 ...

(DTH) satellite television subscribers across Canada. Nimiq-6 was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 17 May 2012. * Manufacturer:

* Satellite Type:

LS-1300 The SSL 1300, previously the LS-1300 and the FS-1300, is a satellite bus produced by Maxar Technologies. Total broadcast power ranges from 5 to 25 kW, and the platform can accommodate from 12 to 150 transponders. The SSL 1300 is a modular platf ...

* Launch mass: * Dimensions: * Power: 25 kW * Expected lifetime: 15 years * Transponders: 32

* Vehicle:

* Location: 91.1° West

References

{{Canadian Space Agency Communications satellites of Canada Lockheed Martin satellites and probes Telesat