Nimiq 5
Encyclopedia
Nimiq 5 is a Canadian
communications satellite
, which will be operated by Telesat Canada
as part of its Nimiq
fleet of satellites. It will be positioned in geostationary orbit
at a longitude of 72.7° West of the Greenwich Meridian. EchoStar Corporation will lease the satellite's entire capacity to provide direct-to-home broadcasting for Dish Network Corporation
.
Nimiq 5 was built by Space Systems/Loral
, and is based on the LS-1300 satellite bus
. The contract to build it was announced on 4 January 2007. At launch, it will have a mass of 4745 kilograms (10,460.9 lb), and is expected to operate for fifteen years. It carries 32 J band
transponders (NATO frequency designation system, US IEEE Ku band
).
Nimiq 5 was launched by International Launch Services
, using a Proton-M
rocket with a Briz-M
upper stage, under a contract signed in April 2007. The launch was conducted from Site 200/39
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan
, at 19:19 GMT on 17 September 2009. The Briz-M separated from the Proton-M nine minutes and forty one seconds into the flight and subsequently made five burns before releasing Nimiq 5 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit nine hours and fifteen minutes after liftoff. It will then raise itself into its final geostationary orbit. It is expected to enter service in early 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
communications satellite
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
, which will be operated by Telesat Canada
Telesat Canada
Telesat Canada is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario as well as having offices in the United States and Brazil.On October 5, 2007 Loral Space & Communications Inc...
as part of its Nimiq
Nimiq
The Nimiq satellites are a fleet of geostationary telecommunications satellites owned by the Telesat and used by satellite television providers including Bell TV and EchoStar . 'Nimiq' is an Inuit word used for an object or a force which binds things together. A contest in 1998 was held to choose...
fleet of satellites. It will be 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...
at a longitude of 72.7° West of the Greenwich Meridian. EchoStar Corporation will lease the satellite's entire capacity to provide direct-to-home broadcasting for Dish Network Corporation
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...
.
Nimiq 5 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 on 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...
. The contract to build it was announced on 4 January 2007. At launch, it will have a mass of 4745 kilograms (10,460.9 lb), and is expected to operate for fifteen years. It carries 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...
transponders (NATO frequency designation system, US 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...
).
Nimiq 5 was launched 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...
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, under a contract signed in April 2007. The launch was conducted 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 19:19 GMT on 17 September 2009. The Briz-M separated from the Proton-M nine minutes and forty one seconds into the flight and subsequently made five burns before releasing Nimiq 5 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit nine hours and fifteen minutes after liftoff. It will then raise itself into its final geostationary orbit. It is expected to enter service in early 2010.