Eutelsat 113 West A, formerly Satmex-6, 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 ...

which is operated by

Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...

. Originally built for Mexico's Satmex, it was launched in 2006. The satellite was acquired by Eutelsat in its 2014 merger with Satmex, and renamed ''Eutelsat 113 West A'' in May. It is used to provide communications services to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Constructed by Space Systems/Loral, Satmex 6 is based on the LS-1300X

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 is equipped with 36 G/H band (IEEE C band) and 24 J band (IEEE K_u-band)

transponder 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 ...

s, and at launch it had a mass of , with an expected operational lifespan of 15 years.

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 ...

was contracted to launch Satmex 6, using an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket flying from

ELA-3 ELA-3 () is a launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. The complex was first used in June 1996 in support of the now retired Ariane 5 Ariane 5 is a retired European heavy-lift space launch vehicle operated by Arianespac ...

at the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

. The launch occurred at 21:09 GMT on 27 May 2006, and placed Satmex 6, along with the

Thaicom 5 Thaicom 5 was a geostationary communications satellite operated by Thaicom. It was used to provide communications services to Asia, Africa, Middle East, Americas, Europe and Australia. Overview Thaicom 5 was constructed by Alcatel Alenia Space ...

satellite, into a

geosynchronous 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 ...

. At the time, this was the heaviest dual-satellite payload ever launched to geostationary transfer orbit. Following launch, the satellite raised its own orbit by means of an onboard

apogee motor An apogee kick motor (AKM) is a rocket motor that is regularly employed on artificial satellites to provide the final impulse to change the trajectory from the transfer orbit into its final orbit (most commonly circular orbit, circular). For a ...

. At 18:33 GMT on 31 May, it was injected into

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 ...

. It was subsequently tested, and positioned at a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

of 113° West for operational service. Eutelsat 113 West A operated successfully for over 17 years. On 31 January 2024, the satellite suffered an anomaly that led Eutelsat to announce the termination of services from the spacecraft two days later.

References

External links

Satmex 6 at International Media Switzerland
{{Eutelsat Spacecraft launched in 2006 Satellites of Mexico 2006 in Mexico Eutelsat satellites Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Ariane commercial payloads Spacecraft decommissioned in 2024

See also

References

External links