SIRIUS (satellite)
Encyclopedia
Sirius was a constellation of communications satellite
s operated at 5°E
in geostationary orbit
(GEO) by SES Sirius
(now SES Astra
). 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 packages for eastern Europe, the TopTV
package for Africa, a number of Ukrainian
channels and the national Latvia
n and Lithuania
n channel service free-to-air
.
on September 14, 2000.
s and two active Ka-band transponders. Sirius 4 was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems
based upon the A2100AX design.
Among the services carried are Viasat
and Viasat Ukraine
which has used the Sirius satellites for their digital platform since its launch.
Sirius 4 was renamed to Astra 4A in June 2010, when the operator SES Sirius was renamed SES Astra.
after Sky Television's
merger with British Satellite Broadcasting
(the merger was conducted on Sky's terms and BSB's satellites were sold in favour of Sky's leased Astra
satellite operations). The satellite had previously operated as Marcopolo 1. It operated at 5° east from 1994 until 2000, when it was moved to 13° west. It operated here before being dumped to graveyard orbit
in 2003.
and launched from Kourou
on November 12, 1997 to replace the Tele-X
satellite. It is of the model Spacebus 3000B2 and has 32 Ku band
transponders with beams targeting both the Nordic region and all of Europe.
It was moved to 31.5°E
(0°N 31.5°W) and renamed Astra 5A
on 29 April 2008. The Astra 5A
satellite mission ended on 16 January 2009 due to an anomaly with the spacecraft.
service, whose satellites are named Radiosat 1–4 due to being launched after the Sirius fleet of satellites.
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s operated at 5°E
Astra 5°E
Astra 5°E is the name for the communications satellites 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...
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...
(GEO) by SES Sirius
SES SIRIUS
SES Sirius, formerly called Nordic Satellite AB is the owner and operator of the two Sirius satellites, which provide the Nordic countries and the Baltic states, with TV, radio, data and communications solutions...
(now 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...
). They carried digital
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
to the countries of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat
Viasat
Viasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. Broadcasting from London, the target markets are in the Nordic and the Baltic Countries...
pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
system, along with several pay TV packages for eastern Europe, the TopTV
TopTV
TopTV is a South African satellite TV service that began broadcasting on 1 May 2010. TopTV is owned by On Digital Media, who were granted a pay-TV license by ICASA in September 2007. On Digital Media is 20% owned by TV satellite operator, SES Astra...
package for Africa, a number of Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
channels and the national Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n channel service free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
.
Sirius 3
Sirius 3 is currently stationed at 4.8° East (0°N 4.8°W) (notionally 5°E) as backup for Sirius 4. Sirius 3 was leased to SES Astra immediately after its launch on October 5, 1998 for a period of 12 months (after which it was moved to its original destination of 5°E) to provide capacity at 28.2°E and to backup Astra 2A, pending the launch of Astra 2BAstra 2B
Astra 2B is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra, launched in 2000 to join Astra 2A at the Astra 28.2°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcast services to the UK and Republic of Ireland....
on September 14, 2000.
Sirius 4
A fourth satellite, Sirius 4, was ordered in 2005 and launched at 22:39:47 on 17 November 2007. It carries 52 active Ku-band transponderTransponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s and two active Ka-band transponders. Sirius 4 was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with additional sites in Sunnyvale, California; Newtown, Pennsylvania; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the US and UK...
based upon the A2100AX design.
Among the services carried are Viasat
Viasat
Viasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. Broadcasting from London, the target markets are in the Nordic and the Baltic Countries...
and Viasat Ukraine
Viasat Ukraine
Viasat Ukraine is a Ukrainian direct broadcast satellite television distributor. It is owned by "Vision TV" which is a joint venture between the Strong Media Group and the Swedish Modern Times Group...
which has used the Sirius satellites for their digital platform since its launch.
Sirius 4 was renamed to Astra 4A in June 2010, when the operator SES Sirius was renamed SES Astra.
Sirius 1
Sirius 1 (later Sirius W) was purchased from British Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
after Sky Television's
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...
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...
(the merger was conducted on Sky's terms and BSB's satellites were sold in favour of Sky's leased 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...
satellite operations). The satellite had previously operated as Marcopolo 1. It operated at 5° east from 1994 until 2000, when it was moved to 13° west. It operated here before being dumped to 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 2003.
Sirius 2
Sirius 2 was manufactured by AérospatialeAérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
and launched from Kourou
Kourou
Kourou is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America.Kourou is the location of the Guiana Space Centre, France and ESA's main spaceport.-Geography:...
on November 12, 1997 to replace the Tele-X
Tele-X
Tele-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...
satellite. It is of the model Spacebus 3000B2 and has 32 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...
transponders with beams targeting both the Nordic region and all of Europe.
It was moved to 31.5°E
Astra 31.5°E
Astra 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...
(0°N 31.5°W) and renamed Astra 5A
Astra 5A
Astra 5A is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra at the Astra 31.5°E orbital slot. Launched in 1997 to the 5°E position by NSAB as Sirius 2, operation of the satellite was transferred to SES Astra in April 2008 and the craft renamed and moved to 31.5°E to open up a new...
on 29 April 2008. The Astra 5A
Astra 5A
Astra 5A is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra at the Astra 31.5°E orbital slot. Launched in 1997 to the 5°E position by NSAB as Sirius 2, operation of the satellite was transferred to SES Astra in April 2008 and the craft renamed and moved to 31.5°E to open up a new...
satellite mission ended on 16 January 2009 due to an anomaly with the spacecraft.
Sirius Satellite Radio
The Sirius satellites are not the satellites used for the American Sirius Satellite RadioSirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
service, whose satellites are named Radiosat 1–4 due to being launched after the Sirius fleet of satellites.