Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation

The Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) is a Japanese corporation established in April 1993 to procure, manage and lease transponders on communications satellites. Its largest stockholder, owning 49.9%, is NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation.[1] In 1994 it was ranked by Space News as the world's 19th largest fixed satellite operator.[2]

Satellite fleet

The B-SAT fleet has an extensive history. This is an overview of the satellites.

Former Satellites

These satellites were managed by Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation but are now decommissioned.[3]

BSAT-1a

BSAT-1a was an HS-376 based satellite with 4 active plus 4 spare Ku band transponders. It was successfully launched on April 16, 1997 aboard an Ariane 44LP along Thaicom 3.[4]

BSAT-1b

BSAT-1b was an HS-376 based satellite with 4 active plus 4 spare Ku band transponders. It was successfully launched on April 28, 1998 aboard an Ariane 44P along Nilesat 101.[4]

BSAT-2a

BSAT-2a was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation based on the STAR bus platform. It was launched aboard an Ariane 5G rocket on March 8, 2001. BSAT-2a serves as an on orbit backup to BSAT-2c.BSAT-2a was deorbited in January 2013.[5]

BSAT-2b

BSAT-2b was a twin of BSAT-2a, also based on the STAR bus. Launched along Artemis aboard an Ariane 5G, it was left on an unusable orbit and that it couldn't compensate for. The electric propulsion Artemis, could use its higher efficiency ion drives, to reach operational orbit.[6][7]

BSAT-2c

BSAT-2c was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation Based on the STAR Bus platform. It was launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket 2003-06-11. In-orbit delivery to B-SAT took place 2003-07-15.[8] BSAT-2c was deorbited in August 2013.[5]

Current Satellites

The current fleet of Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation as of July 2016 is composed a three spacecrafts.[3]

BSAT-3a

Launched 2007-08-14 by an Ariane 5 ECA expendable launch vehicle.[9] It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems based on the A2100A platform design, with a communications payload containing 12 Ku-band channels, eight of which operate at one time.[10] Located in geostationary orbit at 110 degrees East longitude, it replaced BSAT-1a and BSAT-1b.[1]

BSAT-3b

B-SAT awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to build its next geostationary telecommunications satellite, BSAT-3b, which was launched by Arianespace aboard an Ariane 5 ECA (along with the Eutelsat W3B satellite) on 2010-10-28.[11][12][13]

BSAT-3c

BSAT-3c, also known as JCSAT-110R, is a satellite co-owned with SKY Perfect JSAT Group with each operator owning a separate payload. It was built by Lockheed Martin on its A2100A platform. It has two separate payloads with 12 Ku band transponders each. It was successfully launched on August 7, 2011 on an Ariane 5 ECA along Astra 1N.[14]

Future Satellites

The B-SAT network will enter its new generation on 2017. All third generation satellite will be replaced with the fourth generation.[3]

BSAT-4a

The first satellite of the fourth generation B-SAT will be built by SSL (company) on its SSL 1300 platform. It will have 24 Ku band transponders and mass around 3.5 t (3.9 tons). It is expected to be launched on 2017 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA.[15]

Satellite list

Name Bus Payload Order Launch Launch Vehicle Launch Result Launch Weight Status Remarks
BS-3N AS-3000 3 Ku band N/A 1994-07-08 Ariane 44L Success 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) Decommissioned during August 2011 Launched along PAS 2.[16] Transferred to B-SAT on November 1998.[5][17]
BSAT-1a HS-376 4 Ku band 1993 1997-04-16 Ariane 44LP Success 1,236 kg (2,725 lb) Decommissioned during August 2010 Launched along Thaicom 3.
BSAT-1b HS-376 4 Ku band 1993 1998-04-28 Ariane 44P Success 1,236 kg (2,725 lb) Decommissioned during August 2011 Launched along Nilesat 101.
BSAT-2a STAR-1 4 Ku band 1999 2001-03-08 Ariane 5G Success 1,292 kg (2,848 lb) Decommissioned during January 2013 Launched along Eurobird 1.[6][5]
BSAT-2b STAR-1 4 Ku band 1999 2001-07-12 Ariane 5G Failure 1,292 kg (2,848 lb) Launch failure Launched along Artemis. Launch failure left it in too low an orbit.[6][5]
BSAT-2c STAR-1 4 Ku band 2001 2003-06-11 Ariane 5G Success 1,275 kg (2,811 lb) Decommissioned during August 2013 Launched along Optus C1.[5][18]
BSAT-3a A2100A 12 Ku band 2005 2007-08-14 Ariane 5 ECA Success 1,967 kg (4,336 lb) Operational at 110°E Launched along Spaceway-3.[5][19]
BSAT-3b A2100A 12 Ku band 2008 2010-10-28 Ariane 5 ECA Success 2,060 kg (4,540 lb) Operational at 110°E Launched along Eutelsat W3B.[5][19]
BSAT-3c A2100A 24 Ku band and 24 C band 2008 2011-08-06 Ariane 5 ECA Success 2,910 kg (6,420 lb) Operational at 110°E Launched along Astra 1N. Co-owned with SKY Perfect JSAT Group, named as JCSAT-110R. Backup of N-SAT-110.[14][5]
BSAT-4a SSL 1300 24 Ku band 2015 2017 Ariane 5 ECA Planned 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) Planned

References

  1. 1 2 "Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation Profile". B-SAT.
  2. ↑ "Top 20 Fixed Satellite Operators, 2004". Space News.
  3. 1 2 3 "BS放送を支える放送衛星" [Broadcast Satellite support network] (in Japanese). B-SAT Corporation. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  4. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 1a, 1b". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Milestones". Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation. Archived from the original on 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  6. 1 2 3 Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 2a, 2b". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  7. ↑ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "Artemis". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  8. ↑ "ORBITAL MAKES FINAL IN-ORBIT DELIVERY OF BSAT-2c SATELLITE". Orbital Sciences.
  9. ↑ "BSAT-3A - NSSDC ID: 2007-036B". NASA.
  10. ↑ "Lockheed Martin-Built BSAT-3a Satellite Ready For Launch". Lockheed Martin.
  11. ↑ "B-SAT AWARDS LOCKHEED MARTIN CONTRACT FOR BSAT-3b SATELLITE". Lockheed Martin. 2008-04-15.
  12. ↑ "Lockheed Martin-Built BSAT-3b Satellite Successfully Launched for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation of Japan". Lockheed Martin. 2010-10-28.
  13. ↑ "All Systems Are Nominal Aboard Lockheed Martin Bsat-3b Satellite Following Oct. 28 Launch". Lockheed Martin. 2010-11-04. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13.
  14. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 3c / JCSAT 110R". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  15. ↑ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 4a". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  16. ↑ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BS 3a, 3b, 3n (Yuri 3a, 3b, 3n)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  17. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Geostationary Orbit Catalog". Archived from the original on 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  18. ↑ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 2c". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
  19. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter Dirk (2016-09-08). "BSat 3a, 3b". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.