Thaicom 5

THAICOM 5
Mission type Communication
Operator Thaicom
COSPAR ID 2006-020B
SATCAT no. 29163Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration 12 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus Spacebus 3000A
Manufacturer Alcatel Alenia Space
Launch mass 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 27 May 2006, 21:09 (2006-05-27UTC21:09Z) UTC
Rocket Ariane 5ECA
Launch site Kourou ELA-3
Contractor Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Geostationary
Longitude 78.5° East
Perigee 35,777 kilometres (22,231 mi)
Apogee 35,796 kilometres (22,243 mi)
Inclination 0 degrees
Period 24 hours
Epoch 27 May 2006, 17:09:00 UTC[1]
Transponders
Band 25 C band
14 Ku band

Thaicom 5 is a Thai geostationary communications satellite which is operated by Thaicom. It is used to provide communications services to Asia, Africa, Americas,Europe and Australia.[2]

Overview

Thaicom 5 was constructed by Alcatel Alenia Space, and is based on the Spacebus 3000A satellite bus, with a configuration identical to the Thaicom 3 satellite which it replaced. It was originally ordered as Thaicom 4, but sold to Agrani as Agrani 2 before completion. It was completed in 1997, and stored until June 2005 when it was cancelled and sold back to Thaicom as Thaicom 5. It is equipped with 25 G/H band (IEEE C band) and 14 J band (IEEE Ku band) transponders, and at launch it had a mass of 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb), with an expected operational lifespan of 12 years.[3][4]

Launch

The satellite was launched on an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket, contracted by Arianespace, flying from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre. The launch occurred at 21:09 UTC on 27 May 2006, and placed Thaicom 5, along with the Mexican Satmex 6 spacecraft, into geosynchronous transfer orbit.[5] At the time, this was the heaviest dual-satellite payload ever launched into geosynchronous transfer orbit,[6] however this record has since been broken.

Following launch, THAICOM 5 raised itself into geostationary orbit using an S400 engine, with insertion occurring on 3 June 2006.[7] It underwent on-orbit testing, and was positioned at a longitude of 78.5° East for operational service, where it replaced the failing Thaicom 3 satellite.[2] On 2 October 2006, after Thaicom 5 had become operational, Thaicom 3 was moved to a graveyard orbit.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  2. 1 2 "THAICOM 5". Satellites. Thaicom Public Company Limited. Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  3. ↑ "UCS Satellite Database". Union of Concerned Scientists. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  4. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "THAICOM 3, 5". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  5. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  6. ↑ Launch Webcast. Arianespace. 2006-05-27.
  7. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan. "Index". Geostationary Orbit Catalog. Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
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