Nilesat 101

Nilesat 101
Mission type Communications
Operator Nilesat
COSPAR ID 1998-024A
SATCAT № 25311
Mission duration 18 years
Spacecraft properties
Bus Eurostar-2000
Manufacturer Matra Marconi
Launch mass 1,827 kilograms (4,028 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 28 April 1998, 22:53 UTC
Rocket Ariane 44P
Launch site Kourou ELA-2
Contractor Arianespace
End of mission
Disposal Decommissioned
Deactivated February 2013
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Geostationary
Longitude west
Perigee 36,512 kilometres (22,688 mi)
Apogee 36,725 kilometres (22,820 mi)
Inclination 0.73 degrees
Period 24.64 hours
Epoch 29 October 2013, 10:24:24 UTC[1]
Transponders
Band 12 Ku-band

Nilesat 101 was an Egyptian owned geosynchronous communications satellite.

Launched by an Ariane 4 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana on 28 April 1998 at 22:53:00 UTC by Arianespace, it was manufactured by the European company Matra Marconi Space (Astrium), and started official broadcasting on 31 May 1998 with an Expected Life Time of 15 years. At launch the spacecraft had a gross mass of 1,840 kg.

It was parked at the geostationary orbital position of 7° West together with its sister Satellite Nilesat 102 and carries 12 Ku band 100 W high power wide beam transponders of 33 MHz bandwidth to provide digital communications and terrestrial Direct to Home ((DTH)) TV, Radio Broadcasting, Multimedia and Data services for countries in North Africa, South Europe and Middle East. The two satellites carry approximately 280 TV channels covering all the Middle East countries; north from Southern Europe to Central Africa, south, and east from Iran to the Atlantic Ocean, west.

Nilesat 101 was operated by The Egyptian satellite Co. Nilesat that was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated ground control station and uplinking facilities.

Nilesat and Eutelsat have agreed in September 2005 to lease capacity on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 4 satellite after relocating it to 7° West and renaming it to Nilesat 103, the satellite is scheduled to be repositioned to this location in second quarter 2006 after the launch and entry into service of Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 7A and Hot Bird 8 satellites.

In February 2013 the satellite was decommissioned and raised into a graveyard orbit, permanently ending its service.

See also

References

  1. "NILESAT Satellite details 1998-024A NORAD 25311". N2YO. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 0°N 7°W / 0°N 7°W