AMC-3 (formerly GE-3) is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES S.A. (and formerly GE Americom, then SES Americom). Launched on 4 September 1997, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, AMC-3 is a hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite. It provides coverage to Canada, United States, Mexico, Caribbean. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the Yucatán Peninsula and Great Lakes, AMC-3 provides service to commercial and government customers, with programming distribution, satellite news gathering and broadcast internet capabilities.[2][6]
Names | GE-3 (1997-2001) AMC-3 (2001-present) Eagle-1 (2017-present) |
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Mission type | Communications[1] |
Operator | GE Americom (1997-2001) SES Americom (2001-2009) SES World Skies (2009-2011) SES S.A. (2011-present) |
COSPAR ID | 1997-050A ![]() |
SATCAT no. | 24936 |
Mission duration | 15 years (planned) [2] 24 years, 9 months, 29 days (elapsed) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | GE-3 |
Spacecraft type | Lockheed Martin A2100 |
Bus | LM A2100A[3] |
Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
Launch mass | 2,845 kg (6,272 lb) [4] |
Dry mass | 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 4 September 1997, 12:03:00 UTC[1] |
Rocket | Atlas IIAS[4] |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-36A[4] |
Contractor | Lockheed Martin |
Entered service | 1997 |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit[5] |
Regime | Geostationary orbit |
Longitude | 72° West |
Transponders | |
Band | 48 transponders: 24 C-band 24 Ku-band[2] |
Coverage area | Canada, United States, Mexico, Caribbean[2] |
SES constellation |
In January 2017, the AMC-3 Ku-band payload was sold to Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE), a provider of satellite-based connectivity and media to mobility markets, such as passenger aircraft. GEE purchased all the capacity on the satellite to support aeronautical customers, in particular Southwest Airlines, the company's largest customer, and rebranded the satellite as Eagle-1. The satellite remains under the control of SES S.A.[7]
Among other satellite TV channels, AMC-3 carries NASA TV.[8]
In the United States, NASA Television's Public and Media channels are MPEG-2 digital C-band signals carried by QPSK/DVB-S modulation on satellite AMC-3, transponder 15C, at 87° West longitude. Downlink frequency is 4000 MHz, horizontal polarization, with a data rate of 38.86 Mhz, symbol rate of 28.1115 Ms/s, and ¾ FEC. A Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) compliant Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) is needed for reception
Satellites operated by SES S.A. | |
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SES fleet | |
AMC fleet | |
NSS fleet | |
Astra fleet | |
Third parties |
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← 1996 · Orbital launches in 1997 · 1998 → | |
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STS-81 | GPS IIR-1 | GE 2 · Nahuel 1A | Soyuz TM-25 | STS-82 | Haruka | Kosmos 2337 · Kosmos 2338 · Kosmos 2339 · Gonets-D1 #4 · Gonets-D1 #5 · Gonets-D1 #6 | JCSAT-R | USA-130 | Intelsat 801 | Mozhayets 2 | Tempo-2 | STS-83 | USA-131 | Progress M-34 | Kosmos 2340 | Thaicom 3 · BSAT-1a | Kosmos 2341 | Minisat 01 · Founders | GOES 10 | Iridium 4 · Iridium 5 · Iridium 6 · Iridium 7 · Iridium 8 | Chinasat 6A | Kosmos 2342 | STS-84 | Kosmos 2343 | Tselina-2 | Thor 2 | Telstar 5 | Inmarsat-3 F4 · INSAT-2D | Kosmos 2344 | Feng Yun 2A | Iridium 9 · Iridium 10 · Iridium 11 · Iridium 12 · Iridium 13 · Iridium 14 · Iridium 16 | Intelsat 802 | STS-94 | Progress M-35 | Iridium 15 · Iridium 17 · Iridium 18 · Iridium 20 · Iridium 21 | USA-132 | Superbird-C | OrbView-2 | Soyuz TM-26 | STS-85 (CRISTA-SPAS) | PAS-6 | Kosmos 2345 | Agila 2 | Iridium 22 · Iridium 23 · Iridium 24 · Iridium 25 · Iridium 26 | Lewis | ACE | PAS-5 | FORTE | Iridium MFS-1 · Iridium MFS-2 | Hot Bird 3 · Meteosat 7 | GE-3 | Iridium 27 · Iridium 28 · Iridium 29 · Iridium 30 · Iridium 31 · Iridium 32 · Iridium 33 | Kosmos 2346 · FAISAT-2V | Intelsat 803 | Molniya-1T #98 | STS-86 | Iridium 19 · Iridium 34 · Iridium 35 · Iridium 36 · Iridium 37 | IRS-1D | Progress M-36 (Sputnik 40 · X-Mir) | EchoStar III | Foton #11 | Cassini (Huygens) | Apstar 2R | USA-133 | STEP-4 | USA-135 · FalconGOLD | Maqsat-B · Maqsat-H · YES | SCD-2A | USA-134 | USA-136 | Iridium 38 · Iridium 39 · Iridium 40 · Iridium 41 · Iridium 43 | Kupon | Sirius 2 · IndoStar-1 | Resurs-F1M #1 | STS-87 (SPARTAN-201) | TRMM · Orihime · Hikoboshi | JCSAT-1B · Equator-S | Astra 1G | Iridium 42 · Iridium 44 | Galaxy 8i | Kosmos 2347 | Kosmos 2348 | Progress M-37 | Iridium 45 · Iridium 46 · Iridium 47 · Iridium 48 · Iridium 49 | Intelsat 804 | Orbcomm FM5 · Orbcomm FM6 · Orbcomm FM7 · Orbcomm FM8 · Orbcomm FM9 · Orbcomm FM10 · Orbcomm FM11 · Orbcomm FM12 | Early Bird 1 | AsiaSat 3 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in brackets. |
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