Astra 2B

Astra 2B is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES. Launched in 2000 to join Astra 2A at the Astra 28.2°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcast services to the UK and Republic of Ireland, the satellite has also served at the Astra 19.2°E and the Astra 31.5°E positions.

Astra 2B
COSPAR ID2000-054A
SATCAT no.26494
Mission duration15 years
Spacecraft properties
BusEurostar E2000+
ManufacturerAstrium
(now Airbus Defence and Space)
Launch mass3,315 kilograms (7,308 lb)
Power7,800 watts
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 14, 2000 (2000-09-14Z) UTC
RocketAriane 5G V130
Launch siteKourou ELA-3
ContractorArianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
SlotAstra 19.2°E (2018-)
20°W (2017-2018)
Astra 19.2°E (2016-2017)
Astra 31.5°E (2014-2016)
Astra 19.2°E (2013-2014)
Astra 28.2°E (2000-2013)
Perigee altitude35,772 kilometres (22,228 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude35,810 kilometres (22,250 mi)[1]
Inclination4.0 degrees[1]
Period1436.0 minutes[1]
EpochOctober 2, 2019, 09:35:03 UTC[1]
Transponders
Band30 Ku band
(to be reduced to 28 by end of life)
Bandwidth33 megahertz
TWTA power109 watts
EIRP51 decibel-watts
 

History

The satellite provides two broadcast beams, each with horizontal and vertical polarisation, across two footprints - 2B North (covering central Europe and Scandinavia) and 2B South (covering Central Europe and the Iberian peninsula and Canary Islands).[2]

While at 28.2°E, TV signals could be received with a 43 cm dish across the majority of the British Isles with a 60 cm dish required in the extreme north and west, although the official footprint maps now show a 60 cm dish as required across all of western Europe.[3] At 28.2°E 17 transponders on Astra 2B were used by BSkyB to provide the Sky Digital TV services of standard and high definition TV and digital radio.[4] Astra 2B could also provide backup capacity, substituting for one or more transponders across the whole 10.70-12.75 GHz range used by Astra satellites in the Astra 19.2°E and Astra 28.2°E orbital positions.

A third, steerable beam provides 8 transponders in the 12.50-12.75 GHz range for Internet and telecommunications services in West Africa. This aspect of the satellite was originally the commercial responsibility of SES New Skies (now incorporated into SES).

Following the launch of Astra 2F to 28.2°E, in February 2013 Astra 2B started its planned move from that position to Astra 19.2°E, to serve alongside Astra 1KR, Astra 1L, Astra 1M, and Astra 2C,[5] arriving in position by February 27, 2013.[6] In January 2014, Astra 2B moved to the Astra 31.5°E slot, pending the delayed launch of Astra 5B to that position and stayed there as back-up[7] until it was moved back to 19.2°E in December 2016.[8] In June 2017, it was moved west at approximately 0.6°/day to arrive alongside NSS-7 at 20°W in August 2017.[9] From April 2018 to July 2018, Astra 2B was moved east at 0.6°/day to Astra 19.2°E.[10]

See also

References
  1. "ASTRA 2B Satellite details 2000-054A NORAD 26494". N2YO. October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  2. "Astra 2B Footprints". SES. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  3. "ASTRA 2B". SES. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. "Astra 2B at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Archived from the original on 11 August 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  5. Our global satellite fleet SES booklet November 2012 Archived 2012-08-16 at the Wayback Machine fleet plan for 2015. Accessed February 15, 2013
  6. Astra 2B in lyngsat.com SatTracker Accessed February 27, 2013
  7. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions - Astra 2B Accessed February 20, 2014
  8. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed December 29, 2016
  9. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed August 28, 2017
  10. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed July 27, 2018

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