AMC-16 Successfully Launched From Cape Canaveral; Atlas V Performs Flawlessly.PRINCETON, N.J. & CAPE CANAVERAL Cape Canaveral (kənăv`ərəl), low, sandy promontory extending E into the Atlantic Ocean from a barrier island, E Fla., separated from Merritt Island by the Banana River, a lagoon; named (1963) Cape Kennedy in memory of President John , Fla. -- Against the pre-dawn sky from Cape Canaveral, the AMERICOM-16 (AMC-16) satellite of SES AMERICOM, an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (French: Bourse de Luxembourg) is a stock exchange based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. :SESG SESG Systems Engineering Steering Group SESG Software Engineering Support Group SESG System Engineering Sub-Group ), roared into space onboard an Atlas V launch vehicle from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) is the East Coast space launch facility of the United States Department of Defense. Located on Cape Canaveral in the State of Florida, it depends on Patrick Air Force Base, home of the 45th Space Wing. CCAFS is adjacent to the John F. this morning at 7:07 a.m. Eastern Time. After 109 minutes, the spacecraft separated from the Centaur centaur (sĕn`tôr), in Greek mythology, creature, half man and half horse. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurus, who was Ixion's son. upper stage and was placed into geostationary transfer orbit A geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a Hohmann transfer orbit around the Earth between a low Earth orbit (LEO) and a geostationary orbit (GEO). It is an ellipse where the perigee is a point on a LEO and the apogee has the same distance from the Earth as the GEO. . Initial signals were received from the satellite at 9:41 a.m. ET. The hybrid Ku- and Ka-band satellite will begin payload and performance testing at 82 degrees West. It is anticipated that AMC-16 will be ready to support the transmission of high-speed data and digital video services throughout the U.S. for the AMERICOM2Home(R) customer EchoStar DISH Network during the first quarter of 2005. "We are delighted that AMC-16 has been successfully launched; our heartiest congratulations first to Lockheed Martin for delivering a great spacecraft and to International Launch Services International Launch Services (or ILS) was formed in 1995 as a private spaceflight partnership between the United States defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LM) (LM sold their part later) and the Russian firms Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC for this morning's picture-perfect launch. AMC-16 is the second satellite platform we are putting into operation dedicated to EchoStar Communications Corp.'s DISH Network satellite TV service," said Anders Johnson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Satellite Initiatives, SES AMERICOM. "With the successful launch of AMC-16, in combination with its soon-to-be-operating identical twin, AMC-15, I believe the AMERICOM2Home(R) concept has been fully realized and AMERICOM's excellence is clearly demonstrated once again." "Lockheed Martin is proud to continue our history of partnership and teamwork with SES AMERICOM to deliver the AMC-16 satellite, the second Ka-band payload in AMERICOM's fleet," said Ted Gavrilis, President, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems. "AMC-16 will serve to enhance digital video and data services throughout the 50 U.S. states for EchoStar, the AMERICOM2Home(R) dedicated customer on AMC-16, and our highly reliable A2100 satellite series is now the foundation for a dozen SES AMERICOM satellites." "This is record-setting in the number of times we have launched for a single customer in a calendar year," said ILS ILS In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Israeli Shekel. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. President Mark Albrecht. "SES AMERICOM is a 'platinum customer,' one with which we have a long-standing relationship and have seen many launches. We look forward to continuing our ties with the launch of WS-2 in early 2005." AMC-16 Satellite Built by Lockheed Martin Commerical Space Systems, AMC-16 was manufactured in their Newtown, Pennsylvania and Sunnyvale, California facilities. The hybrid spacecraft is based on an A2100AX platform; its Ku-band payload features 24 - 36 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. transponders with 140-watt TWTAs while the Ka-band payload features 12 - 125 MHz spot beams with 75-watt TWTAs. The satellite's solar panels and two communication antennas will be deployed approximately 10 days after launch. AMC-16 is expected to reach geosynchronous orbit and its testing orbital location of 82 degrees West by the beginning of January. After thorough testing of all of the on-board systems, it is anticipated that AMC-16 will be ready for service in approximately eight weeks. About SES AMERICOM The largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S., SES AMERICOM, Inc., is recognized as a pioneer of global satellite communications services for media, enterprise, and government. Established in 1973 with its first satellite circuit for the U.S. Department of Defense, the company currently operates a fleet of 16 spacecraft in orbital positions predominantly providing service throughout the Americas. As a member of the SES GLOBAL family, SES AMERICOM is able to provide bandwidth for media content distribution and end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region in the world. In 2001, the company established AMERICOM Government Services, a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. dedicated to providing satellite-based communications solutions to both civilian and defense agencies of the U.S. government. In 2003, SES AMERICOM formed WORLDSAT to market its international satellites covering Asia and the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean regions, and connecting premier regional satellite fleets. With its combined operations, SES AMERICOM serves broadcasters, cable programmers, aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau and maritime communications integrators, Internet service providers Internet service provider (ISP)Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. , mobile communications networks, government agencies, educational institutions, carriers and secure global data networks with efficient communication and content distribution solutions. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion