AMC-3

AMC-3
Names GE-3, Eagle-1
Mission type Communications[1]
Operator GE Americom (1997-2001)
SES Americom (2001-2009)
SES World Skies (2009—)
COSPAR ID 1997-050A
SATCAT no. 24936
Mission duration Designed: 15 years[2]
Elapsed: 21 years, 1 month, 8 days
Spacecraft properties
Bus A2100A[3]
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin
Launch mass 2,845 kg (6,272 lb)[4]
Power LEROS-1C[4]
Start of mission
Launch date September 4, 1997, 12:03 (1997-09-04UTC12:03) UTC[1]
Rocket Atlas IIAS[4]
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-36A[4]
Contractor ILS
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Geostationary
Longitude 72° West
Semi-major axis 42,165 km (26,200 mi)
Eccentricity 0.000280
Perigee 35,782.4 km (22,234.2 mi)
Apogee 35,806.1 km (22,248.9 mi)
Inclination 0.1°
Period 1,436.1 minutes
Epoch February 2, 2017, 09:43:43 UTC[5]
Transponders
Band 24 C band, 24 Ku band[2]
Frequency 36 MHz
Coverage area North America[2]

AMC-3 (formerly GE 3) is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES S.A. (and formerly GE Americom, then SES Americom). Launched on September 4, 1997, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, AMC-3 is a hybrid C-band/Ku-band satellite. It provides coverage to North and Central Americas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the Yucatán Peninsula and Great Lakes, AMC-3 provides service to commercial and government customers, with programming distribution, satellite news gathering and broadcast internet capabilities.[6][7]

In January 2017, the AMC-3 Ku-band payload was sold to Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE), a provider of satellite-based connectivity and media to mobility markets, such as passenger aircraft. GEE purchased all the capacity on the satellite to support aeronautical customers, in particular Southwest Airlines, the company's largest customer, and rebranded the satellite as Eagle-1. The satellite will remain under the control of SES.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "GE 3". National Space Science Data Center. NASA. November 23, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "AMC-3 Data". SES World Skies. 2009. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ "AMG 3". Satbeams.com. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Krebs, Gunter (September 27, 2009). "GE 1, 2, 3 / AMC 1, 2, 3". Skyrocket.de. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ "AMC-3 (GE-3) Satellite details". N2YO.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  6. ↑ "AMC-3". SES World Skies. 2009. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Turner Expands SNG Transponder Deal With SES AMERICOM" (Press release). Business Wire via Redorbit.com. April 12, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  8. ↑ Henry, Caleb (January 16, 2017). "Global Eagle's mystery satellite purchase is SES's AMC-3". SpaceNews. Retrieved February 2, 2017.


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