AMC-18 (satellite)

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**AMC-18 ^[1]**
Spacecraft design:	Lockheed Martin A2100
Orbital location:	105° W.L.
Launch Date:	8 December 2006
Vehicle:	Ariane 5
Design Life:	15 years

**C-band payload: 24 x 36 MHz**
Amp type	SSPA, 20 watts
Amp Redundancy:	16 for 12
Receiver redundancy:	4 for 2
Coverage:	50 state, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean

AMC-18 is a geostationary Lockheed Martin A2100A communications satellite owned by SES Americom. It was launched on December 8, 2006 from Kourou aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle and is situated at 105° west longitude, providing coverage of North America with twenty-four C band transponders of 12-18 watts each. Future users in May 2007 include The CW Television Network and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, among other services.

The spacecraft can deliver and receive signals from 50 states, the Caribbean and Mexico and has been designated as the third HD-PRIME satellite.

Originally built as a ground spare to the AMC-10 and AMC-11 satellite program, AMC-18 is optimized for digital television distribution from the center of the U.S. orbital arc. ^[2]

The satellite has an expected lifetime of at least 15 years.

[edit] Glossary

Beam edge	EIRP, G/T or flux density contour corresponding to the minimum performance over a coverage area.
Beam peak	A single point within a coverage area with highest performance (i.e., EIRP, flux density or G/T)
dBW	A decibel referenced to one watt. Expresses units of decibels above 1 W. X (dBW) = 10 log 10 (X / 1W)
Downlink	A transmission link carrying information from a satellite or spacecraft to earth. Typically down links carry telemetry, data and voice.
EIRP	(Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) In a given direction, the gain of a transmitting antenna multiplied by the net power accepted by the antenna from the connected transmitter.
G/T (antenna gain-to-noise-temperature)	The ratio of the gain to the noise temperature of the antenna. Usually the antenna-receiver system figure of merit is specified. For this case the figure of merit is the gain of the antenna divided by the system noise temperature referred to the antenna terminals. The system figure of merit at any reference plane in the RF system is the same as that taken at the antenna terminals since both the gain and system noise temperature are referred to the same reference plane at the antenna terminals.
Point of presence (POP)	A POP is a physical interconnect location where separate telecommunications networks meet and communicate with each other.
Polarization	That property of a radiated electromagnetic wave describing the time-varying direction and amplitude of the electric field vector: specifically, the figure traced as a function of time by the extremity of the vector at a fixed location in space, as observed along the direction of propagation.
Teleport	A teleport is a physical location and interface between a satellite system and telecommunications networks on the ground. It includes a variety of satellite dishes, earth stations, and supporting ground equipment.
Transponder	A receiver/transmitter combination which receives a signal and retransmits it at a different carrier frequency. Transponders are used in communication satellites for reradiating signals to earth stations or in spacecraft for returning ranging signals.
Uplink	A ground to satellite link.