Optus fleet of satellites
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus
, an Australia
n telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
The Aussat A-Class satellites were funded by the Government for Aussat Pty Ltd. When Optus was granted a telecommunications carrier licence in 1991, it was bundled with the purchase of Aussat Pty Limited as part of the carrier licence deal.
AUSSAT-1 was deployed by during the first day of the STS-51-I
mission.
AUSSAT-2 was deployed by during the STS-61-B
mission.
AUSSAT-3 was launched from Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 3
.
The B-Class satellites were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center
by Long March rocket
s.
Optus B1 was moved to Junk orbit in May 2008.
On 21 May 2005 services were temporarily lost when the Primary Satellite Control Processor failed. The satellite was switched to use the Backup SCP in order to restore services. Thereafter the satellite continued to operate from the Backup SCP.
March 2006 Positioning Failure
At 06:52 GMT on 30 March 2006, a routine repositioning manoeuvre failed, resulting in loss of pointing control of the satellite. Although communication with the satellite was not lost, transmission services provided by the satellite failed due to its incorrect positioning. Services were progressively restored between 18:00 and 20:00 GMT.
Local time at the time of the start of the outage ranged from 14:52 AWST
to 18:52 NZST, a peak time for listeners and viewers of the radio and television broadcast and subscription services provided directly or indirectly by the satellite.
The launchcraft containing Optus B2 exploded on launch and was subsequently destroyed, for reasons that the designer Hughes and the Chinese (Launch Location) authorities were unable to determine.
However, according to one source, shortcomings in the launch vehicle guidance system meant that it failed to compensate for wind-shear effects within the first minute after launch.
Optus B3 was launched as a replacement for the failed Optus B2.
This satellite is owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and leased back
to Singtel Optus. It was replaced by Optus D2.
Partially funded by the Australian Government (Defence Department) - Optus C1's use is shared between Defence and Telecommunications, in particular the supply of Television services to Australia. Mitsubishi Electric
was the prime contractor responsible for manufacturing all the Optus C1 communications systems.
The D1 and D2 satellites replace and expand the services provided by the B1 and B3 satellites respectively, which had both been operating beyond their design lifetimes. The D3 satellite is to be co-located with C1 to expand capacity.
D1 was successfully launched by an Ariane 5 ECA
on 13 October 2006 at 20:56 GMT.
Customers on D1 include the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC), Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS), the Seven Network
, the Nine Network
, Sky Television New Zealand
and New Zealand's Kordia (formerly known as BCL). D1 also supports VSAT
users.
Kordia is leasing a full transponder for sublease to TVNZ (TV1 & TV2) and CanWest (TV3 & C4) for the Freeview service. The Kordia transponder will be on 12.4697 GHz. http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/ku-band-twin-lnb-p-41.html
As many existing receivers did not have the ability to receive horizontally aligned signals, Sky Television
was unable to transfer services from Optus B1 to this beam as expected. Sky was instead assigned capacity on the more general Australia/NZ beam. Due to restrictions on broadcast rights (in terms of both broadcast licensing
and copyright
), the unencrypted Freeview service could not make a similar allocation switch and was set up as a horizontally-aligned service on the New Zealand spot beam. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3966324a28.html
On 2007-07-31, Sky successfully performed an over the air software upgrade to all of its customer set-top box
es, enabling them to receive the horizontally-aligned signals from the New Zealand spot beam. Accordingly, Sky was able to return to their original capacity allocation.
D2 was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 5 GS
on 2007-10-05 at 22:02 GMT.
Optus D2 replaced Optus B3, which had been in operation for 13 years at the time of D2's launch.
D2 also carries a large number of Free To Air channels, many in languages other than English
The third in the D series of Optus satellites was successfully launched into a geostationary transfer orbit
on 21 August 2009 at 22:09 GMT by Arianespace
using an Ariane 5 ECA
launch vehicle from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou
, French Guiana
. The satellite will be co-located with Optus C1 at 156° east
. Optus sold 25% of the transponder capacity (6 out of 24) to Foxtel
to provide High Definition programming as well as "new channels, expanded digital services and enhanced picture and sound quality".
The fourth D series of Optus satellites was announced on 21 March 2011 in a press release by Optus CEO Paul O'Sullivan
, named Optus 10. The satellite will provide "high quality broadcast services to households, and twoway voice and data communication services to areas in and around Australia and NZ", and "satellite services to Australia and NZ Government departments, premium companies and broadcasters including FOXTEL, ABC, SBS, Seven Network, Nine Network, Network Ten, Globecast Australia, UBI and Sky TV New Zealand.".
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
, an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
A-Class
- Satellite Type: HughesBoeing Satellite Development CenterThe Boeing Satellite Development Center is a major business unit of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It brought together Boeing satellite operations with that of GM Hughes Electronics' Space and Communications division.-History:...
HS-376 - Design Life: 7 Years for A1 & A2 - 10 Years for A3
- Equipment: 15 Ku bandKu bandThe Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
transponders (including four 30W transponders and eleven 12W transponders) - Diameter: 2.2m
- Height: 2.9m (stowed), 6.3m (deployed)
The Aussat A-Class satellites were funded by the Government for Aussat Pty Ltd. When Optus was granted a telecommunications carrier licence in 1991, it was bundled with the purchase of Aussat Pty Limited as part of the carrier licence deal.
Aussat (Optus) A1
- Operational Location: 160° east160th meridian eastThe meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1985-1993) - Launch Date: 27 August 1985 (Out of service; not deorbited)
AUSSAT-1 was deployed by during the first day of the STS-51-I
STS-51-I
STS-51-I was the twentieth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit...
mission.
Aussat (Optus) A2
- Operational Locations: 156° east156th meridian eastThe meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1985-1993), 164° east164th meridian eastThe meridian 164° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1993-1999) - Launch Date: 27 November 1985 (Out of service; not deorbited)
AUSSAT-2 was deployed by during the STS-61-B
STS-61-B
STS-61-B was NASA's 23rd Space Shuttle mission, and its second using Space Shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 26 November 1985. During STS-61-B, the shuttle crew deployed three communications satellites, and tested techniques of constructing...
mission.
Aussat (Optus) A3
- Operational Locations: 164° east164th meridian eastThe meridian 164° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1987-1993), 156° east156th meridian eastThe meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1993-1995), 152° east152nd meridian eastThe meridian 152° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(1995-1999) - On retirement from Optus service, Optus A3 was transferred to the 31.5°EAstra 31.5°EAstra 31.5°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 31.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
orbital position which belongs to SES AstraSES AstraAstra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
. - Launch Date: 16 September 1987
- Moved to graveyard orbit: April 2008
- Was the oldest HS-376 still in active operation
AUSSAT-3 was launched from Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 3
Ariane 2 and Ariane 3
Ariane 3 was a European expendable carrier rocket, which was used for eleven launches between 1984 and 1989. It was a member of the Ariane family of rockets, derived from the Ariane 2, although it flew before this...
.
B-Class
- Satellite Type: Hughes HS-601
- Design Life: 10 Years
- Equipment: 15 Ku bandKu bandThe Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
transponders, 1 L bandL bandL band refers to four different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum: 40 to 60 GHz , 1 to 2 GHz , 1565 nm to 1625 nm , and around 3.5 micrometres .-NATO L band:...
transponder, Ka bandKa bandThe Ka band covers the frequencies of 26.5–40 GHz. The Ka band is part of the K band of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This symbol refers to "K-above" — in other words, the band directly above the K-band...
beacon, laser retroreflector
The B-Class satellites were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center also known as Base 27 , is a People’s Republic of China space vehicle launch facility approximately 64 km northwest of Xichang City, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province....
by Long March rocket
Long March rocket
A Long March rocket or Chang Zheng rocket as in Chinese pinyin is any rocket in a family of expendable launch systems operated by the People's Republic of China. Development and design falls under the auspices of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology...
s.
Optus B1
- Primary mission location: 160° east160th meridian eastThe meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
- Current location: Sent to Junk orbit
- Launch date: 13 August 1992
- Beacon frequencies: 12.748.000 H / 12.749.000 H
Optus B1 was moved to Junk orbit in May 2008.
Failures
Satellite Control ProcessorOn 21 May 2005 services were temporarily lost when the Primary Satellite Control Processor failed. The satellite was switched to use the Backup SCP in order to restore services. Thereafter the satellite continued to operate from the Backup SCP.
March 2006 Positioning Failure
At 06:52 GMT on 30 March 2006, a routine repositioning manoeuvre failed, resulting in loss of pointing control of the satellite. Although communication with the satellite was not lost, transmission services provided by the satellite failed due to its incorrect positioning. Services were progressively restored between 18:00 and 20:00 GMT.
Local time at the time of the start of the outage ranged from 14:52 AWST
AWST
AWST may refer to:* Australian Western Standard Time. See Time in Australia* Aviation Week & Space Technology...
to 18:52 NZST, a peak time for listeners and viewers of the radio and television broadcast and subscription services provided directly or indirectly by the satellite.
Optus B2
- Launch Date: 21 December 1992
The launchcraft containing Optus B2 exploded on launch and was subsequently destroyed, for reasons that the designer Hughes and the Chinese (Launch Location) authorities were unable to determine.
However, according to one source, shortcomings in the launch vehicle guidance system meant that it failed to compensate for wind-shear effects within the first minute after launch.
Optus B3
- Primary mission locations: 156° east156th meridian eastThe meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(from initial launch until establishment of Optus C1), 152° east152nd meridian eastThe meridian 152° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(until establishment of Optus D2) - Current location: 164° east164th meridian eastThe meridian 164° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
inclined(as at 2008-02-17) - Launch Date: 27 August 1994
Optus B3 was launched as a replacement for the failed Optus B2.
This satellite is owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and leased back
to Singtel Optus. It was replaced by Optus D2.
Optus (and Defence) C1
- Satellite Type: Space Systems/LoralSpace Systems/LoralSpace Systems/Loral , of Palo Alto, California, is the wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications. It was acquired in 1990 for $715 million by Loral Corp. from Ford Motor Company as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace...
(SS/L): LS-1300 - Launch Date: 11 June 2003
- Location: 156° east156th meridian eastThe meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
- Design Life: 15 Years
- Equipment: 24 Ku bandKu bandThe Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
transponders, 4 (+1) Ka bandKa bandThe Ka band covers the frequencies of 26.5–40 GHz. The Ka band is part of the K band of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum. This symbol refers to "K-above" — in other words, the band directly above the K-band...
transponders, 4 X bandX bandThe X band is a segment of the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of X band is rather indefinitely set at approximately 7.0 to 11.2 gigahertz . In radar engineering, the frequency range is specified...
transponders, 6 UHF transponders
Partially funded by the Australian Government (Defence Department) - Optus C1's use is shared between Defence and Telecommunications, in particular the supply of Television services to Australia. Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric
is a multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group....
was the prime contractor responsible for manufacturing all the Optus C1 communications systems.
Television Services
The Ku band Transponders are exclusively used for Television Services, mainly:- FoxtelFoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
rent a considerable amount of satellite capacity for the transmission of their FoxtelFoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
Digital service (and onsold to AustarAustarAustar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
for their AustarAustarAustar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
Digital service). - Optus operate the Remote Area Broadcasting Services Aurora, allowing Free to Air television to be accessed via satellite in areas that may not be able to access FTA services via terrestrial means. The service is also used in a commercial capacity by a number of organisations for satellite linkups.
- ABC - via the Aurora service allowing access to state tailored feeds of ABC TV in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory, Radio NationalRadio NationalABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
in all Australian states except Northern Territory, Local Regional ABC radio, Classic FMABC Classic FMABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
in all states except Tasmania, Triple J in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and News RadioABC NewsRadioABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, some pay-TV platforms and online via the Internet.Originally...
. - Commercial TV - via satellite & cable viewers to watch the Seven NetworkSeven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, the Nine NetworkNine NetworkThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
& the Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
programs are rebroadcast on digital TV.
Defence Services
The remaining transponders (being Ka band, X band and UHF) are exclusive for Defence/Military use.D-Class
- Manufacturer: Orbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences CorporationOrbital Sciences Corporation is an American company which specializes in the manufacturing and launch of satellites. Its Launch Systems Group is heavily involved with missile defense launch systems...
- Satellite type: Orbital STAR 2 platform
- Design life: 15+ years
The D1 and D2 satellites replace and expand the services provided by the B1 and B3 satellites respectively, which had both been operating beyond their design lifetimes. The D3 satellite is to be co-located with C1 to expand capacity.
Optus D1
- Location: 160° east160th meridian eastThe meridian 160° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
- Launch Date: 2006-10-13
- Equipment: 24 Ku band transponders
- Launch mass: 2350 kg
D1 was successfully launched by an Ariane 5 ECA
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
on 13 October 2006 at 20:56 GMT.
Customers on D1 include the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC), Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS), the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, Sky Television New Zealand
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
and New Zealand's Kordia (formerly known as BCL). D1 also supports VSAT
Very small aperture terminal
A very-small-aperture terminal , is a two-way satellite ground station or a stabilized maritime Vsat antenna with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Data rates typically range from 56 kbps up to 4 Mbps...
users.
Kordia is leasing a full transponder for sublease to TVNZ (TV1 & TV2) and CanWest (TV3 & C4) for the Freeview service. The Kordia transponder will be on 12.4697 GHz. http://www.freeviewshop.co.nz/ku-band-twin-lnb-p-41.html
Incorrect configuration of New Zealand spot beam
During in-orbit testing of the satellite, it was discovered that the New Zealand spot beam had been configured with horizontal polarisation instead of the expected vertical polarisation - as had been used on its predecessor Optus B1.As many existing receivers did not have the ability to receive horizontally aligned signals, Sky Television
SKY Network Television
Sky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
was unable to transfer services from Optus B1 to this beam as expected. Sky was instead assigned capacity on the more general Australia/NZ beam. Due to restrictions on broadcast rights (in terms of both broadcast licensing
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
and copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
), the unencrypted Freeview service could not make a similar allocation switch and was set up as a horizontally-aligned service on the New Zealand spot beam. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3966324a28.html
On 2007-07-31, Sky successfully performed an over the air software upgrade to all of its customer set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
es, enabling them to receive the horizontally-aligned signals from the New Zealand spot beam. Accordingly, Sky was able to return to their original capacity allocation.
Optus D2
- Location: 152° east152nd meridian eastThe meridian 152° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
- Launch date: 2007-10-05
- Equipment: 24 active Ku band transponders (including sixteen 150W transponders and eight 44W transponders).
- Launch mass: 2375 kg
D2 was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 5 GS
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
on 2007-10-05 at 22:02 GMT.
Optus D2 replaced Optus B3, which had been in operation for 13 years at the time of D2's launch.
D2 also carries a large number of Free To Air channels, many in languages other than English
Optus D3
- Location: 156° east156th meridian eastThe meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
- Launch Date: 21 August 2009
- Equipment: 32 Ku band transponders (consisting of twenty four 125 watt primary and eight 44 watt backup transponders)
- Launch mass: 2500 kg
The third in the D series of Optus satellites was successfully launched into a geostationary transfer orbit
Geostationary transfer orbit
A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit is a Hohmann transfer orbit used to reach geosynchronous or geostationary orbit....
on 21 August 2009 at 22:09 GMT by Arianespace
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....
using an Ariane 5 ECA
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
launch vehicle from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou
Kourou
Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. The satellite will be co-located with Optus C1 at 156° east
156th meridian east
The meridian 156° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Australasia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. Optus sold 25% of the transponder capacity (6 out of 24) to Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
to provide High Definition programming as well as "new channels, expanded digital services and enhanced picture and sound quality".
Optus 10 (provisional name)
- Location: TBA
- Launch Date: 2013
- Possible Equipment (based on previous D-series): 32 Ku band transponders (consisting of twenty four 125 watt primary and eight 44 watt backup transponders)
- Launch mass: 2500 kg
The fourth D series of Optus satellites was announced on 21 March 2011 in a press release by Optus CEO Paul O'Sullivan
Paul O'Sullivan
Paul Thomas O'Sullivan, AO is Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand and former Director-General of Security. Prior to his appointment to head ASIO in July 2005, O'Sullivan was former Prime Minister John Howard's senior foreign affairs advisor.O'Sullivan attended Marcellin College, Randwick,...
, named Optus 10. The satellite will provide "high quality broadcast services to households, and twoway voice and data communication services to areas in and around Australia and NZ", and "satellite services to Australia and NZ Government departments, premium companies and broadcasters including FOXTEL, ABC, SBS, Seven Network, Nine Network, Network Ten, Globecast Australia, UBI and Sky TV New Zealand.".
Satellite information and orbital data
- A1: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- A2: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- A3: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- B1: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- B3: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- C1: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- D1: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- D2: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
- D3: Info | Orbit data | Online Tracking
Manufacturer satellite information pages
- A Series: Boeing Satellite Development Center
- B1: Boeing Satellite Development Center
- C1: Space Systems/Loral
- D Series: Orbital Sciences Corporation
- D3: Orbital Sciences Corporation