AMC-3

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AMC-3
NamesGE-3 (1997-2001)
AMC-3 (2001-present)
Eagle-1 (2017-present)
Mission type Communications [1]
Operator GE Americom (1997-2001)
SES Americom (2001-2009)
SES World Skies (2009-2011)
SES (2011-present)
COSPAR ID 1997-050A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 24936
Mission duration15 years (planned) [2]
26 years, 7 months, 22 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftGE-3
Spacecraft type Lockheed Martin A2100
Bus LM A2100A [3]
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Launch mass2,845 kg (6,272 lb) [4]
Dry mass1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date4 September 1997, 12:03:00 UTC [1]
Rocket Atlas IIAS [4]
Launch site Cape Canaveral, LC-36A [4]
Contractor Lockheed Martin
Entered service1997
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit [5]
Regime Geostationary orbit
Longitude72° West
Transponders
Band48 transponders:
24 C-band
24 Ku-band [2]
Coverage area Canada, United States, Mexico, Caribbean [2]
  AMC-2
AMC-4  
 

AMC-3 (formerly GE-3 ) is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES (and formerly GE Americom, then SES Americom, then SES World Skies). Launched on 4 September 1997, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, AMC-3 is a hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite. It provides coverage to Canada, United States, Mexico, Caribbean. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the Yucatán Peninsula and Great Lakes, AMC-3 provides service to commercial and government customers, with programming distribution, satellite news gathering and broadcast internet capabilities. [2] [6]

Contents

Eagle-1

In January 2017, the AMC-3 Ku-band payload was sold to Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE), a provider of satellite-based connectivity and media to mobility markets, such as passenger aircraft. GEE purchased all the capacity on the satellite to support aeronautical customers, in particular Southwest Airlines, the company's largest customer, and rebranded the satellite as Eagle-1. The satellite remains under the control of SES S.A. [7]

Related Research Articles

SES World Skies was a short lived company formed as a result of the merger between the two SES subsidiaries, SES Americom and SES New Skies. The company was merged into its parent company, SES in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SES (company)</span> Communications satellite owner and operator

SES S.A. is a Luxembourgish satellite telecommunications network provider supplying video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satcom (satellite)</span> Family of communications satellites

Satcom, a portmanteau of satellite communications, was a brand of artificial geo-stationary communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications that facilitated wide-area telecommunications by receiving radio signals from Earth, amplifying them, and relaying them back down to terrestrial receivers.

SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 and then later acquired by SES in 2001. In September 2009, SES Americom and SES New Skies merged into SES World Skies.

AMC-11 , previously GE-11, is an American geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES S.A. It is currently positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 131° West, from where it is used to relay cable television across North America for onward distribution. It broadcasts to Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States.

AMC-6, formerly GE-6, is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES S.A. Launched on 21 October 2000, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, AMC-6 became the fifth hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite in the GE Americom fleet. The satellite provides coverage to the continental United States, Canada, the Caribbean islands, southern Greenland, and Latin America. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the eastern United States coastline, AMC-6 provides service to commercial and government customers, and is used as an Internet platform due to its wide coverage, scale and redundancy. Some of its capabilities include Very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) networking, satellite news gathering and Ku-band transceiver service. Launched as GE-6, it was renamed AMC-6 when SES took over GE Americom in 2001, forming SES Americom. This merged with SES New Skies in 2009 to form SES World Skies.

AMC-4 is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES S.A.. Launched in 1999, from Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-2 by Ariane 44LP H10-3. It provides coverage to North America, Latin America, Caribbean. Located in a geostationary orbit, AMC-4 provides service to commercial and government customers, with programming distribution, satellite news gathering and broadcast internet capabilities.

AMC-7 is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES S.A., originally from the GE Americom fleet. Launched on 14 September 2000, at 22:54:07 UTC from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, AMC-7 provides C-band coverage to United States, Caribbean, Mexico, and is located in a geostationary orbit over the Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii. The satellite is primarily used for cable television programming distribution.

AMC-21, or GE-21, is an American communications satellite operated by SES S.A., formerly SES World Skies and SES Americom. It was launched in August 2008 and is expected to remain in service for approximately 15 years. It is currently located at 125° West longitude.

Astra 4A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES at the Astra 5°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcasts, data, and interactive services to Nordic countries, eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa in the 11.70 GHz-12.75 GHz range of the Ku band and 18.8 GHz-21.75 GHz range of the Ka band.

Astra 5A was one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES at the Astra 31.5°E. Launched in 1997 to the 5° East position by NSAB as Sirius 2, operation of the satellite was transferred to SES in April 2008 and the craft renamed and moved to 31.5° East to open up a new orbital position for the company for the development of markets in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astra 19.2°E</span> Group of communications satellites

Astra 19.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg.

The AMC-5, originally called GE-5, was a geosynchronous direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) located at 79° West longitude, operated by SES Americom in the Ku-band. It was used by a variety of television customers, including being home to the CBS Newspath service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC-8</span>

AMC-8, also known as Aurora III, previously GE-8, is a C-band satellite located at 139° West, covering the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It is owned and operated by SES World Skies, formerly SES Americom and before that GE Americom. The satellite provides critical telecommunications services to AT&T Alascom, which occupies most of the satellite's capacity. AMC-8 was launched in 2000 as GE-8, and replaced Satcom-C5 in March 2001.

SES-1 is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES World Skies, then by SES S.A.

GE-2, called AMC-2 after 2001, is a privately owned American communications satellite launched in 1997. It was the first of the GE series to be launched outside the United States. It was launched by an Ariane 44L on 30 January 1997 at 22:04:00 UTC, flying from ELA-2, Centre Spatial Guyanais alongside another satellite, Nahuel 1A. It was owned by GE Americom until 2001 when the company was sold to SES. The name of the spacecraft was then changed by SES Americom to AMC-2 in 2001.

AMC-9 is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES S.A. Launched on 6 June 2003, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on the 300th launch of a Proton family rocket, AMC-9 is a hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite located at 83° West, covering Canada, United States, Mexico, and Caribbean. It is owned and operated by SES S.A., formerly SES Americom.

AMC-12 is an American geostationary communications satellite that was launched by a Proton-M / Briz-M launch vehicle at 02:27:32 UTC on 3 February 2005. The 4,979 kg (10,977 lb) satellite to provide voice and video services to the North America and South America, Europe, and Africa through separate beams to each region, after parking over the Atlantic Ocean through its 72 C-band transponders, over 37° West longitude.

AMC-23 is an American geostationary communications satellite that was launched by a Proton-M / Briz-M launch vehicle at 02:28:40 UTC on 29 December 2005. The 4,981 kg (10,981 lb) satellite to provide services to the Asia-Pacific, West Coast of the United States through separate beams to each region, after parking over the Pacific Ocean through its 18 (+4) C-band and 20 (+6) Ku-band transponders, over 186° West longitude.

References

  1. 1 2 "Display: GE 3 1997-050A". NASA. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "AMC-3 Data". SES World Skies. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. "AMC-3". Satbeams. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Krebs, Gunter (21 July 2019). "GE 1, 2, 3 / AMC 1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. "AMC-3 (GE-3) Satellite details". N2YO.com. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  6. "Turner Expands SNG Transponder Deal With SES AMERICOM" (Press release). Business Wire via Redorbit.com. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  7. Henry, Caleb (16 January 2017). "Global Eagle's mystery satellite purchase is SES's AMC-3". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 April 2021.