Successful launch second time around

Published: 3/17/2000

According to the Russian Aerospace Agency, a Russian Express-A satellite was put into a target geostationary orbit at 1:39pm on 12th March. The new-generation communications satellite was manufactured to order for the state enterprise, Kosmicheskaya Svyaz (Space Communication) by the Reshetnev applied mechanics corporation in Zheleznogorsk, Siberia. It has been added to the Russian national orbital communication grouping consisting of the old satellites, Gorizont, Express and Ekran. Express-A differs from its predecessors in that it has a modern relay system made by the international company, Alcatel, with broadcasting channels in the C and Ku ranges. The 2,600-kilogram satellite's guaranteed service life in orbit is ten years, in contrast to the maximum three year service life of older satellites All of its 17 transmitters have already been distributed amongst Russian and foreign long-term users. Express-A is the second satellite in the new series. The first was lost, on 27th October 1999, in the Proton crash. Russia's State Committee for Telecommunications plans to launch a further Express-A satellite shortly.

Article ID: 1701