SPACEWAY-2
Encyclopedia
Spaceway F2 is part of DirecTV’s constellation of direct broadcast satellites. The satellite was launched via an Arianespace
Ariane 5
ECA rocket from Kourou
, French Guiana
on November 16, 2005. Its operational position is in geosynchronous orbit 35800 kilometres (22,245.1 mi) above the equator at 99.2 degrees west longitude. SPACEWAY-2 is a Boeing 702-model satellite with a 12-year life expectancy. It is expected to support high definition television to DirecTV customers with its Ka-band communications payload. Although SPACEWAY-2 was originally built by Boeing to be used for broadband Internet access
via HughesNet, it has been retrofitted to deliver HD local channels (NBC
, ABC
, CBS
, & Fox
) to numerous markets nationwide.
On April 19, 2006 the satellite was delivered to DirecTV's control after successful on-orbit testing. SPACEWAY-2 immediately started broadcasting HD locals to DirecTV customers in eight more markets: Minneapolis, Minnesota
; Sacramento
and San Diego, California
; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
; Nashville, Tennessee
; Kansas City, Missouri
.; Columbus, Ohio
; and Birmingham, Alabama
. Satellites named DirecTV-10
(launched 2007) and DirecTV-11
(launched 2008), constructed by Boeing, also for use in high definition television, are bent-pipe Ka-band satellites instead of regenerative satellites, and are being used to continue the expansion of DirecTV's HD services.
SPACEWAY-2 was originally envisioned as a global Ka-band communications system.
Boeing retrofitted the SPACEWAY-2 satellite for bent-pipe Ka-band communications for use in high definition television and disabled the regenerative on-board processing of the original system that was to be used for the SPACEWAY broadband satellite communications.
DirecTV-11 is co-located with SPACEWAY-2 satellites in order to use the 500 MHz of unused spectrum for HDTV broadcasting. This spectrum was originally intended for the broadband internet capabilities of the two SPACEWAY satellites which were disabled by Hughes at the request of DirecTV.
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....
Ariane 5
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
ECA rocket 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:...
, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
on November 16, 2005. Its operational position is in geosynchronous orbit 35800 kilometres (22,245.1 mi) above the equator at 99.2 degrees west longitude. SPACEWAY-2 is a Boeing 702-model satellite with a 12-year life expectancy. It is expected to support high definition television to DirecTV customers with its Ka-band communications payload. Although SPACEWAY-2 was originally built by Boeing to be used for broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
via HughesNet, it has been retrofitted to deliver HD local channels (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, & Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
) to numerous markets nationwide.
On April 19, 2006 the satellite was delivered to DirecTV's control after successful on-orbit testing. SPACEWAY-2 immediately started broadcasting HD locals to DirecTV customers in eight more markets: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
; Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
and San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
; Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
; Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.; Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
; and Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. Satellites named DirecTV-10
DirecTV-10
DirecTV-10 is a Boeing model 702 direct broadcast satellite that provides high definition television to DirecTV subscribers in North America. It was launched by International Launch Services on July 7, 2007 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard an Enhanced Proton Breeze-M rocket...
(launched 2007) and DirecTV-11
DirecTV-11
DirecTV-11, also known as D11, is a Boeing model 702 satellite built by the Boeing Satellite Development Center.- Technology :This satellite is functionally identical to DirecTV-10 and is co-located with SPACEWAY-2 at or very near 99.225°W.- Launch data :...
(launched 2008), constructed by Boeing, also for use in high definition television, are bent-pipe Ka-band satellites instead of regenerative satellites, and are being used to continue the expansion of DirecTV's HD services.
SPACEWAY-2 was originally envisioned as a global Ka-band communications system.
Boeing retrofitted the SPACEWAY-2 satellite for bent-pipe Ka-band communications for use in high definition television and disabled the regenerative on-board processing of the original system that was to be used for the SPACEWAY broadband satellite communications.
DirecTV-11 is co-located with SPACEWAY-2 satellites in order to use the 500 MHz of unused spectrum for HDTV broadcasting. This spectrum was originally intended for the broadband internet capabilities of the two SPACEWAY satellites which were disabled by Hughes at the request of DirecTV.