Astra 5°E
Encyclopedia
Astra 5°E is the name for the communications satellite
s co-located at the 5° east position in the Clarke Belt which are owned and operated by SES Astra
, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg
. 5° east is one of the major TV satellite positions serving Europe (the others being at 19.2° east, 28.2° east, 13° east, and 23.5° east).
The Astra satellites at 5° East provide for services downlinking to the Nordic countries, eastern Europe
and sub-Saharan Africa in the 11.70 GHz-12.75 GHz range of the Ku band
, and at present only Astra 4A is regularly operational at this position.
Satellites at 5°E were originally operated by Swedish Space Corporation
(SSC), and then Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB, itself 50% owned by SSC) before SES Astra took full control of the position and the satellites in 2010, renaming the Sirius 4 satellite to Astra 4A and later adding its own Astra 1E to the group.
(DTH) broadcasting to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, as well as Eastern European and Baltic countries including Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 460 TV, radio and interactive channels (including 9 high definition TV stations serve over 21 million
direct-to-home, SMATV and cable homes via the 5°E position. Cable distribution to head-ends, contribution links, data services, and broadband capacity are also provided
Astra 4A provides DTH coverage to multiple African markets with a dedicated Ku band beam from a single orbital position, which eliminates the need for dual-illumination from separate beams. This position also provides uplink and downlink within the African footprint, and inter-connectivity between Africa and Europe, so that DTH broadcasting out of Europe is available without the need for expensive fibre links..
orbital position allocated to Sweden with Swedish Satellite Corporation's Tele-X (launched 1989) the first TV satellite at this position. In 1994, Tele-X was joined by Sirius 1, bought by NSAB from BSkyB in 1993 after Sky Television plc
's merger with British Satellite Broadcasting
, and moved to 5°E from its original orbital position at 30°West as Marcopolo 1.
Sirius 1 was later joined at 5° east by Sirius 2 (1997) and then Sirius 3 (1998), with the most recent addition, Sirius 4, launched in November 2007.
Tele-X was retired to a graveyard orbit
in 1998. Sirius 1 was moved to 13° west and renamed Sirius W in 2000 and retired in 2003. In 2008 Sirius 2 was moved to 31.5°E and renamed Astra 5A but in January 2009, the spacecraft suffered a failure and was withdrawn from service some four years ahead of its expected end of life. Sirius 3 remains at 5° east to provide backup services.
In 2000, SES Astra bought the 50% shareholding in NSAB owned by Teracom and Tele Danmark and in 2003 increased that holding to 75%, renaming the company SES Sirius AB. In 2008 Astra acquired further shares to take its shareholding in SES Sirius to 90% and in March 2010 took full control of the company. In June 2010, the affiliate company was renamed SES Astra and the Sirius 4 satellite renamed Astra 4A.
Astra 4A was originally the designation given in 2007 to just part of the Sirius 4 satellite (six transponders of the FSS Africa beam) owned and operated by SES Sirius. From June 2010, the Astra 4A designation has applied to the entire satellite.
In September 2010, Astra 1E
was moved to 5° east to provide further backup for Astra 4A until the launch of Astra 4B (expected at the end of 2011). Astra 1E was originally launched to the primary Astra position of 19.2°E
but, prior to its move to 5°E, since October 2007 it had been used at 23.5°E
to provide additional capacity before the launch of Astra 3B to that position in May 2010.
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s co-located at the 5° east position in the Clarke Belt which are owned and operated by SES Astra
SES Astra
Astra 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...
, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg
Betzdorf, Luxembourg
Betzdorf is a commune and village in eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Grevenmacher, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher. The commune's administrative centre is Berg....
. 5° east is one of the major TV satellite positions serving Europe (the others being at 19.2° east, 28.2° east, 13° east, and 23.5° east).
The Astra satellites at 5° East provide for services downlinking to the Nordic countries, eastern Europe
and sub-Saharan Africa in the 11.70 GHz-12.75 GHz range of the 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...
, and at present only Astra 4A is regularly operational at this position.
Satellites at 5°E were originally operated by Swedish Space Corporation
Swedish Space Corporation
The Swedish Space Corporation is a comprehensive space company covering the entire field, from the definition of innovative business concepts and space projects to the development, tests and operation of the systems....
(SSC), and then Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB, itself 50% owned by SSC) before SES Astra took full control of the position and the satellites in 2010, renaming the Sirius 4 satellite to Astra 4A and later adding its own Astra 1E to the group.
Current
- Astra 4AAstra 4AAstra 4A is one of the Astracommunications satellite 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...
(previously called Sirius 4) - Sirius 3SIRIUS (satellite)Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5°E in geostationary orbit by SES Sirius . They carried digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV...
(for backup) - Astra 1EAstra 1EAstra 1E is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra, and launched in 1995 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot to provide digital television and radio for DTH across Europe....
(for backup)
Previous
- Tele-XTele-XTele-X was the first communications satellite serving the Nordic countries. It was launched with an Ariane 2 rocket from Kourou, French Guyana, on April 2, 1989. On January 16, 1998, its fuel was exhausted and it was moved into graveyard orbit...
(operated by Swedish Space Corporation) - Sirius 1SIRIUS (satellite)Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5°E in geostationary orbit by SES Sirius . They carried digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV...
(operated by NSAB) - Sirius 2SIRIUS (satellite)Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5°E in geostationary orbit by SES Sirius . They carried digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV...
(operated by NSAB)
Market
Astra 5°E is SES Astra’s position for direct-to-homeDirect broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
(DTH) broadcasting to Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, as well as Eastern European and Baltic countries including Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 460 TV, radio and interactive channels (including 9 high definition TV stations serve over 21 million
direct-to-home, SMATV and cable homes via the 5°E position. Cable distribution to head-ends, contribution links, data services, and broadband capacity are also provided
Astra 4A provides DTH coverage to multiple African markets with a dedicated Ku band beam from a single orbital position, which eliminates the need for dual-illumination from separate beams. This position also provides uplink and downlink within the African footprint, and inter-connectivity between Africa and Europe, so that DTH broadcasting out of Europe is available without the need for expensive fibre links..
Reach
Services from the Astra satellites at 5.0° east are received in 21.87 million households (4.28 million by direct-to-home satellite and 17.59 million via cable).History
The Astra 5°E orbital position was originally the Direct broadcast satelliteDirect broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
orbital position allocated to Sweden with Swedish Satellite Corporation's Tele-X (launched 1989) the first TV satellite at this position. In 1994, Tele-X was joined by Sirius 1, bought by NSAB from BSkyB in 1993 after Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
's merger with British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
, and moved to 5°E from its original orbital position at 30°West as Marcopolo 1.
Sirius 1 was later joined at 5° east by Sirius 2 (1997) and then Sirius 3 (1998), with the most recent addition, Sirius 4, launched in November 2007.
Tele-X was retired to a graveyard orbit
Graveyard orbit
A graveyard orbit, also called a supersynchronous orbit, junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit significantly above synchronous orbit, where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life...
in 1998. Sirius 1 was moved to 13° west and renamed Sirius W in 2000 and retired in 2003. In 2008 Sirius 2 was moved to 31.5°E and renamed Astra 5A but in January 2009, the spacecraft suffered a failure and was withdrawn from service some four years ahead of its expected end of life. Sirius 3 remains at 5° east to provide backup services.
In 2000, SES Astra bought the 50% shareholding in NSAB owned by Teracom and Tele Danmark and in 2003 increased that holding to 75%, renaming the company SES Sirius AB. In 2008 Astra acquired further shares to take its shareholding in SES Sirius to 90% and in March 2010 took full control of the company. In June 2010, the affiliate company was renamed SES Astra and the Sirius 4 satellite renamed Astra 4A.
Astra 4A was originally the designation given in 2007 to just part of the Sirius 4 satellite (six transponders of the FSS Africa beam) owned and operated by SES Sirius. From June 2010, the Astra 4A designation has applied to the entire satellite.
In September 2010, Astra 1E
Astra 1E
Astra 1E is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra, and launched in 1995 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot to provide digital television and radio for DTH across Europe....
was moved to 5° east to provide further backup for Astra 4A until the launch of Astra 4B (expected at the end of 2011). Astra 1E was originally launched to the primary Astra position of 19.2°E
Astra 19.2°E
Astra 19.2°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg....
but, prior to its move to 5°E, since October 2007 it had been used at 23.5°E
Astra 23.5°E
Astra 23.5°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 23.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
to provide additional capacity before the launch of Astra 3B to that position in May 2010.
See also
- 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...
satellite owner - Astra 4AAstra 4AAstra 4A is one of the Astracommunications satellite 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...
- Astra 1EAstra 1EAstra 1E is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra, and launched in 1995 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot to provide digital television and radio for DTH across Europe....
- Astra 19.2°EAstra 19.2°EAstra 19.2°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg....
- Astra 28.2°EAstra 28.2°EAstra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
- Astra 23.5°EAstra 23.5°EAstra 23.5°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 23.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg...
- Astra 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...
- SiriusSIRIUS (satellite)Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5°E in geostationary orbit by SES Sirius . They carried digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV...
External links
- SES guide to receiving Astra satellites
- SES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites
- SES fleet information and map
- OnAstra - Official consumers/viewers' site
- SES - Official trade/industry site
- Swedish Space Corporation website