EchoStar XVII or EchoStar 17, also known as Jupiter 1, is an American geostationary high throughput communications satellite which is operated by Hughes Network Systems, a subsidiary of EchoStar. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 107.1° West,[2] from where it is used for satellite internet access over HughesNet.[3]
EchoStar XVII was built by Space Systems/Loral,[4] and is based on the LS-1300 satellite bus.[5] It measures 8.0 m by 3.2 m by 3.1 m, with 26.07 m solar arrays which were deployed after launch, and generates a minimum of 16.1 kilowatts of power.[2] The spacecraft had a mass at liftoff of 6100 kg, and is expected to operate for fifteen years.[5] It carries sixty (NATO K band) transponders which is used to cover North America.[2]
EchoStar XVII was launched by Arianespace, using an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket flying from ELA-3 at Kourou. The spacecraft was launched at 21:36 UTC on 5 July 2012.[6] The MSG-3 weather satellite was launched aboard the same rocket, mounted below EchoStar XVII, which was atop a Sylda 5 adaptor.[2] The launch successfully placed both satellites into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. EchoStar XVII used its own propulsion system to manoeuvre into a geostationary orbit.[3]
Path to geostationary orbit
See also
- ViaSat-1 – Similar high throughput satellite that was the source of a lawsuit to the manufacturer of both
- 2012 in spaceflight
References
- ECHOSTAR 17 Satellite details 2012-035A NORAD 38551 N2YO, 25 January 2015, retrieved 25 January 2015^
- A Dual Launch for Internet and Weather Satellites Arianespace, retrieved 9 July 2012^
- Hughes EchoStar XVII Satellite with JUPITER™ High Throughput Technology Successfully Launched EchoStar, 6 July 2012, retrieved 8 July 2012^
- EchoStar XVII Space Systems/Loral, retrieved 8 July 2012^
- Gunter Krebs. Echostar 17 / Jupiter 1 Gunter's Space Page, retrieved 9 July 2012^
- Chris Bergin. Ariane 5 ECA launches with MSG-3 and EchoStar XVII NASASpaceflight.com, 5 July 2012, retrieved 9 July 2012^