Astra 2A

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General

Designation	25462 / 98050A
Launch date	30 Aug 1998 at 00:31 UT
Country of origin	Luxemburg
Mission	Direct TV
Geostationary orbit	see below
Launch vehicle	Proton

Half of the capacity (14 transponders) has been booked by BskyB.
The launched was originally booked with Ariane but due to technical problems with the satellite's bipropellant apogee motor the Proton launcher is more suitable (direct GEO injection). The Ariane contract is not cancelled and will be used for another satellite.

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Location

Begin	End	Position
L: 30 Aug 1988	Apr 2016	28.2°E
Jul 2016	Jul 2018	113.5°E
Aug 2018	Oct 2018	100.0°E
Oct 2018	May 2020	100.0°E inclined
Aug 2020	Apr 2022	28°E inclined
Jun 2022		57.2°E inclined

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External resources

sat-index articles

Technical data

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Lyngsat transponder loading

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EIRP coverage (dBW)

Northern beam
Southern beam

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Specifications

Prime contractor	Hughes
Platform	HS-601HP
Mass at launch	3300 kg
Mass in orbit	2300 kg
Dimension	stowed: 3.3 x 3.3 x 5.5 m
Solar array	26 m span
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power	7000 W
Design lifetime	15 years

For security both standard and Xenon propulsion (XIPS) was installed.
It has been tested at 27°E.

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Ku-band (11.7-12.5 GHz)

Main transponders	28 (32 for the first 5 years)
Backup transponders
Power	100 W
Bandwidth	26 MHz in FSS, 33 MHz in BSS
Coverage
EIRP max	52 dBW
Polarization	linear H/V
Frequencies	band E & band F

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Transponder frequency chart - band E+F (GHz)

Horizontal Downlink	Beam	Channel	Vertical Downlink
11.71950	S1	1
	S2	2	11.73900
11.75850	N1	3
	N2	4	11.77800
11.79750	S1	5
	S2	6	11.81700
11.83650	N1	7
	N2	8	11.85600
11.87550	S1	9
	S2	10	11.89500
11.91450	N1	11
	N2	12	11.93400
11.95350	S1	13
	S2	14	11.97300
11.99220	N1	15
	N2	16	12.01200
12.03150	S1	17
	S2	18	12.05100
12.07050	N1	19
	N2	20	12.09000
12.10950	S1	21
	S2	22	12.12900
12.14850	N1	23
	N2	24	12.16800
12.18750	S1	25
	S2	26	12.20700
12.22650	N1	27
	N2	28	12.24600
12.26550	S1	29
	S2	30	12.28500
12.30450	N1	31
	N2	32	12.32400
12.34350	S1	33
	S2	34	12.36300
12.38250	N1	35
	N2	36	12.40200
12.42150	S1	37
	S2	38	12.44100
12.46050	N1	39
	N2	40	12.48000

N1 stands for North 1 or A, N2 stands for North 2 or B, S1 stands for South 1, etc.

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