Nimiq-5 is a Canadian communications satellite, operated by Telesat Canada as part of its Nimiq fleet of satellites.[5] It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 72.7° West of the Greenwich Meridian.[6] As of July 2015, EchoStar Corporation leases the satellite's entire capacity to provide high-definition television direct-to-home broadcasting for Dish Network Corporation.[6][4] When accessed using a multi-satellite receiver such as the VIP722k and a multi-satellite dish/LNB combo, such as the Dish-300, Dish-500, or Dish-Turbo 1000.4, the satellite is (incorrectly) referred to by the on-screen diagnostics as Echostar 72 W.^{[citation needed]}

Nimiq-5

Mission type	Communications
Operator	Telesat Canada
COSPAR ID	2009-050A
SATCAT no.	35873
Mission duration	15 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	LS-1300
Manufacturer	Space Systems/Loral
Launch mass	4,745 kg (10,461 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	17 September 2009, 19:19:19 UTC[1]
Rocket	Proton-M / Briz-M
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 200/39
Contractor	International Launch Services (ILS)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[2]
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	72.7° West
Transponders
Band	32 Ku-band[3]
Coverage area	North America
EIRP	40.5 - 52.5 (varies by transponder and latitude) [4]
Nimiq program ← Nimiq-4 Nimiq-6 →

Spacecraft

Nimiq-5 was built by Space Systems/Loral, and is based on the LS-1300 satellite bus.[7] The contract to build it was announced on 4 January 2007.[8] At launch, it will have a mass of 4,745 kg (10,461 lb),[9] and is expected to operate for fifteen years. It carries 32 Ku-band transponders frequency designation system.[7]

Launch

Nimiq-5 was launched by International Launch Services (ILS), using a Proton-M launch vehicle with a Briz-M upper stage, under a contract signed in April 2007.[10] The launch was conducted from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 19:19:19 UTC on 17 September 2009. The Briz-M separated from the Proton-M nine minutes and forty one seconds into the flight and subsequently made five burns before releasing Nimiq-5 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit nine hours and fifteen minutes after liftoff.[9]

See also

• 2009 in spaceflight

References