Thor 5
Encyclopedia
Thor 5, also known as Thor 2R is a Norwegian
communications satellite
. It was successfully launched for Telenor
atop an International Launch Services
Proton-M
/Briz-M
carrier rocket, at 11:34 GMT on 11 February 2008. It is based on the Star-2
satellite bus, and was constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporation
. It carries 24 Ku band
transponder
s, to provide direct-to-home television broadcasting. After launch, the Briz-M upper stage placed Thor 5 directly into a geosynchronous orbit
, eliminating the need for orbital raising manoeuvres and making the spacecraft able to save weight by carrying less fuel. It will be positioned at a longitude of 1° West.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
. It was successfully launched for Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
atop an International Launch Services
International Launch Services
International Launch Services is a U.S.-Russian joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Proton rocket launch services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.- Ownership :...
Proton-M
Proton-M
The Proton-M, GRAU index 8K82M or 8K82KM, is a Russian carrier rocket derived from the Soviet-developed Proton. It is built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Commercial launches are marketed by International Launch Services , and generally...
/Briz-M
Briz-M
The Briz-M , is a Russian orbit insertion upper stage manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on the Proton-M rocket.- Characteristics :...
carrier rocket, at 11:34 GMT on 11 February 2008. It is based on the Star-2
STAR Bus
STAR Bus is a satellite platform manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation with an apogee kick motor to place a communications satellite into geostationary orbit, a thruster to provide the satellite with orbital station-keeping for a 15 year mission, and solar arrays to provide the satellite...
satellite bus, and was constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital 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...
. It carries 24 Ku band
Ku band
The 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...
transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s, to provide direct-to-home television broadcasting. After launch, the Briz-M upper stage placed Thor 5 directly into a geosynchronous orbit
Geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period that matches the Earth's sidereal rotation period...
, eliminating the need for orbital raising manoeuvres and making the spacecraft able to save weight by carrying less fuel. It will be positioned at a longitude of 1° West.