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Class: Communications. Nation: USA. Manufacturer: Hughes. Domestic communication. Launching states: Japan, France, USA. At the time, these were the largest commercial spacecraft ever built. The series were also the first commercial satellites to employ Satellite Switched/Time Division Multiple Access (SS/TDMA) techniques. Spin stabilised with despun antenna. Hydrazine propulsion system. Passive thermal control. Telescoping dual-cylinder structure with deployed antennas. Body mounted solar cells generate 2250 W (EOL). Solar drums are each about 6m tall. 38 (plus 12 backup) C-Band and 10 (plus 4 backup) Ku-Band transponders.120,000 telephone calls and 3 colour TV broadcasts simultaneously.
SpecificationDesign Life: 13 years. Total Length: 11.8 m. Maximum Diameter: 3.6 m. Total Mass: 4,330 kg.
HS 393 Chronology
06 March 1989
JCSAT 1 Program: JCSAT. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44LP. Mass: 2,280 kg. Perigee: 35,781 km. Apogee: 35,794 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg. Japanese domestic communications; 150 deg E. Domestic communication. Launching states: Japan, France, USA. Launch vehicle Ariane 29 (Ariane IV). Launching organization ARIANE SPACE. Launch time 1129 GMT.
27 October 1989
Intelsat 6A F-2 Program: Intelsat. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44L. Mass: 4,215 kg. Perigee: 35,691 km. Apogee: 35,900 km. Inclination: 0.1 deg. Stationed at 24.5 deg E. At the time, the Intelsat 6 series were the largest commercial spacecraft ever built. The series were also the first commercial satellites to employ Satellite Switched/Time Division Multiple Access (SS/TDMA) techniques. Spacecraft: Based on Hughes 393 bus. Spin stabilised with despun antenna. Hydrazine propulsion system. Passive thermal control. Telescoping dual-cylinder structure with deployed antennas. Body mounted solar cells generate 2250 W (EOL). Solar drums are each about 6m tall. Payload: 38 (plus 12 backup) C-Band and 10 (plus 4 backup) Ku-Band transponders.120,000 telephone calls and 3 colour TV broadcasts simultaneously. SS/TDMA (Satellite-Switched Time Division Multiple Access) techniques used.
01 January 1990
JCSAT 2 Program: JCSAT. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. Mass: 2,280 kg. Perigee: 35,781 km. Apogee: 35,795 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg. Japanese domestic communications; 154 deg E. Domestic communications. Launching organization Martin Marietta. Launch time 0007 GMT.
14 March 1990
Intelsat 6 F-3 Program: Intelsat. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. FAILURE: Second stage failed to separate due to a wiring error in the stage separation electronics, stranding the payload in low earth orbit. Mass: 4,215 kg. Perigee: 35,786 km. Apogee: 35,790 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg. Second stage separation failure; unusable orbit.
23 June 1990
Intelsat 6 F-4 Program: Intelsat. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Vehicle: Titan 34D. Mass: 4,215 kg. Perigee: 35,780 km. Apogee: 35,792 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg. International communications; 63 deg E.
14 August 1991
Intelsat 6 F-5 Program: Intelsat. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44L. Mass: 4,296 kg. Perigee: 35,782 km. Apogee: 35,793 km. Inclination: 0.1 deg. International communications; 14.5 deg W.
29 October 1991
Intelsat 6A F-1 Program: Intelsat. Launch Site: Kourou . Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44L. Mass: 4,330 kg. Perigee: 35,784 km. Apogee: 35,791 km. Inclination: 0.0 deg. International communications; 27.5 deg W.
Bibliography:- 2 - McDowell, Jonathan, The United Nations Registry of Space Objects, Harvard University, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/un/un.html
- 6 - JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. HTML when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html
- 279 - McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. HTML when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html
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Last update 12 March 2001.
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