Astra 1M

Astra 1M is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 19.2° East, from where it is used to provide direct to home (DTH) broadcasting to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Satellite description

Astra 1M was built by Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) under a contract signed in July 2005, and is based on the Eurostar 3000S satellite bus. It is equipped with thirty six transponders operating in the J-band of the NATO-defined spectrum, or the Ku-band of the older IEEE-defined spectrum. At launch it had a mass of 5,320 kg (11,730 lb), with an expected operational lifespan of 15 years, however four of its transponders were deactivated five years after launch. At the beginning of its operational life, it had a maximum power consumption of 10 kilowatts by the end of the satellite's operational life.

Launch

The launch of Astra 1M was conducted by International Launch Services (ILS), using a Proton-M launch vehicle with a Briz-M upper stage. The launch occurred from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 20:44:20 UTC on 5 November 2008. Astra 1M was successfully placed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit by means of an onboard apogee motor.