EchoStar XV
Encyclopedia
EchoStar XV is an American
geostationary communications satellite
which is operated by EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit
, and will be located at a longitude
of 61.5° West, from where it is intended to provide direct broadcasting of high-definition television
services to the continental United States and Puerto Rico
for Dish Network
.
EchoStar XV was built by Space Systems/Loral
, and is based around the LS-1300 satellite bus
. It is equipped with 32 J band
(IEEE Ku band
) transponder
s, and at launch it had a mass of 5521 kilograms (12,171.7 lb). It has a design life of fifteen years, however it is carrying enough fuel for around twenty years of operations. It has a common configuration with EchoStar XI and EchoStar XVI.
The launch of EchoStar XV was conducted by International Launch Services
, using a Proton-M
carrier rocket with a Briz-M
upper stage. The launch occurred from Site 200/39
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan
, at 18:40 UTC on 10 July 2010. The launch successfully placed EchoStar XV into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Following separation from the rocket, it manoeuvred into a geostationary orbit with a perigee
of 35781 kilometres (22,233.3 mi) and an apogee
of 35805 kilometres (22,248.3 mi).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
geostationary communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
which is operated by EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit
Geostationary orbit
A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator , with a period equal to the Earth's rotational period and an orbital eccentricity of approximately zero. An object in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, at a fixed position in the sky, to ground observers...
, and will be located at a longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
of 61.5° West, from where it is intended to provide direct broadcasting of high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
services to the continental United States and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
for Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
.
EchoStar XV was built by Space Systems/Loral
Space Systems/Loral
Space 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...
, and is based around the LS-1300 satellite bus
Satellite bus
A satellite bus or spacecraft bus is the general model on which multiple-production satellite spacecraft are often based. The bus is the infrastructure of a spacecraft, usually providing locations for the payload .They are most commonly used for geosynchronous satellites, particularly...
. It is equipped with 32 J band
J band
J band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The J band is the range of radio frequencies from 10 GHz to 20 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between...
(IEEE 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, and at launch it had a mass of 5521 kilograms (12,171.7 lb). It has a design life of fifteen years, however it is carrying enough fuel for around twenty years of operations. It has a common configuration with EchoStar XI and EchoStar XVI.
The launch of EchoStar XV was conducted by 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 :...
, using a 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...
carrier rocket with a 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 :...
upper stage. The launch occurred from Site 200/39
Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200
Site 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome is a launch site used by Proton rockets. It consists of two launch pads, areas 39 and 40. Area 39 is currently used for Proton-M launches, including commercial flights conducted by International Launch Services. Area 40 is currently inactive, as it was slated to...
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, at 18:40 UTC on 10 July 2010. The launch successfully placed EchoStar XV into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Following separation from the rocket, it manoeuvred into a geostationary orbit with a perigee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
of 35781 kilometres (22,233.3 mi) and an apogee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
of 35805 kilometres (22,248.3 mi).