AMC-18

AMC-18
Mission type Communications
Operator SES Americom (2006-09)
SES World Skies (2009-11)
SES (2011-present)
COSPAR ID 2006-054B
SATCAT no. 29644
Mission duration 15 years
Spacecraft properties
Bus A2100A
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Launch mass 2,081 kilograms (4,588 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 8 December 2006, 22:08 (2006-12-08UTC22:08Z) UTC[1]
Rocket Ariane 5ECA V174
Launch site Kourou ELA-3
Contractor Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Geostationary
Longitude 139° west
Perigee 35,777 kilometres (22,231 mi)
Apogee 35,807 kilometres (22,249 mi)
Inclination 0.03 degrees
Period 23.93 hours
Epoch 29 October 2013, 07:39:07 UTC[2]
Transponders
Band 24 C band
Bandwidth 36 megahertz
Coverage area North America
Caribbean

AMC-18 is a geostationary Lockheed Martin A2100A communications satellite owned by SES Americom. It was launched on December 8, 2006 from Kourou aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle and is situated at 105° west longitude, providing coverage of North America with twenty-four C band transponders of 12-18 watts each. Future users in May 2007 include The CW Television Network, NASA TV and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, among other services.

AMC-18 is used by thousands of terrestrial radio stations for network feeds using ground equipment from Starguide, X-Digital Systems, Wegener and International Datacasting. Major tenants are Cumulus Media Networks Satellite Services (which includes Citadel Media, Westwood One Networks, Talk Radio Network, WOR Radio Network and others), Skyview Networks (which includes ABC News, ABC Radio, California News Network, Arizona News Network, numerous Professional and Collegian Sports networks, and others), Orbital Media Networks (which includes United Stations Radio Networks, John Tesh, and others), Premiere Radio Networks, Dial Global, Westwood One, Learfield Communications, The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show, etc.

The spacecraft can deliver and receive signals from 50 states, the Caribbean and Mexico and has been designated as the third HD-PRIME satellite.

Originally built as a ground spare to the AMC-10 and AMC-11 satellite program, AMC-18 is optimized for digital television distribution from the center of the U.S. orbital arc.[3]

The satellite has an expected lifetime of at least 15 years.

Transponder details

C-band payload: 24 x 36 MHz
Amp type SSPA, 20 watts
Amp Redundancy: 16 for 12
Receiver redundancy: 4 for 2
Coverage: 50 state, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean

References

  1. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "AMC-18 Satellite details 2006-054B NORAD 29644". N2YO. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "AMC-18". SES.



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