cosmos.wikisort.org - Spacecraft

Intelsat VA F-15 or Intelsat 515, then named Columbia 515, was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat and which was later sold to Columbia Communications Corporation. Launched in 1989, it was the fifteenth of fifteen Intelsat V satellites to be launched. The Intelsat V series was constructed by Ford Aerospace, based on the Intelsat VA satellite bus. Intelsat VA F-15 was part of an advanced series of satellites designed to provide greater telecommunications capacity for Intelsat's global network, from an orbital station at 60.0° East.

Intelsat VA F-15 → Columbia 515

Mission type	Communication
Operator	Intelsat / Columbia Communications Corporation
COSPAR ID	1989-006A [1]
SATCAT no.	19772
Mission duration	7 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	Intelsat VA
Manufacturer	Ford Aerospace
Launch mass	1981 kg
Dry mass	1098 kg [2]
Dimensions	1.66 x 2.1 x 1.77 metres
Power	1800 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	27 January 1989, 01:21:00 UTC[3]
Rocket	Ariane 2 V28
Launch site	Kourou, ELA-1
Contractor	Aérospatiale
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	November 2002
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	60.0° East (1989-1992), 18.0° West (1992-1996), 21.5° West (1996-1998), 37.8° West (1998-2002)
Epoch	27 January 1989
Transponders
Band	29 C-band 6 Ku-band
Intelsat V ← Intelsat VA F-14 Intelsat VI F-1 →

Satellite

The satellite was box-shaped, measuring 1.66 by 2.1 by 1.77 metres; solar arrays spanned 15.9 metres tip to tip. The arrays, supplemented by nickel-hydrogen batteries during eclipse, provided 1800 watts of power at mission onset, approximately 1280 watts at the end of its seven-year design life. The payload housed 29 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. It could accommodate 15,000 two-way voice circuits and two TV channels simultaneously. It also provided maritime communications for ships at sea.[1]

Launch

The satellite was successfully launched into space on 27 January 1989, at 01:21:00 UTC, by means of an Ariane 2 vehicle from the Crentre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, French Guiana. It had a launch mass of 1981 kg.[4]

Columbia 515

From 1 April 1998, the satellite is used by Columbia Communications Corporation and renamed Columbia 515. The Ku-band payload will not be used anymore. Columbia Communications was granted by FCC to operate a C-Band satellite as a replacement at this location, 37.8° West. The satellite was deactivated in November 2002.

References

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