DirecTV satellite fleet

The DirecTV satellite fleet is a group of communications satellites located at various geostationary orbits for the DirecTV satellite broadcast service and HughesNet (formerly known as DirectWAY and DirectPC) internet service.

Satellites and their orbits

Defunct satellites are highlighted in gold.

Satellite	Orbital slot	Launch date*	Launch vehicle	Satellite type	Separated mass	Mass at BOL	Mass at EOL
DirecTV-01 !DirecTV-1	109.8°W	01993-12-17 December 17, 1993	Ariane 4	Hughes Electronics HS-601	2970 kg at GTO[1]	1680 kg	1300 kg
DirecTV-02 !DirecTV-2[A]	100.8°W	01994-08-03 August 3, 1994	Atlas IIA[2]	Hughes Electronics HS-601
DirecTV-03 !DirecTV-3[B]	091.1°W !91.1°W	01995-06-10 June 10, 1995	Ariane 42-P	Hughes Electronics HS-601
DirecTV-06 !DirecTV-6[C]	109.5°W	01997-03-09 March 9, 1997	Atlas IIA[3]	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300
DirecTV-01R !DirecTV-1R	072.5°W !72.5°W	01999-10-10 October 10, 1999	Zenit-3SL	Hughes Electronics HS-601HP
DirecTV-04S !DirecTV-4S	101.2° W	02001-11-27 November 27, 2001	Ariane 4	Hughes Electronics HS-601HP
DirecTV-05 !DirecTV-5	109.8° W	02002-05-07 May 7, 2002	Proton	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300	3640 kg at TO[4]
Galaxy 3C[D]	099.2°W !95°W	02002-06-15 June 15, 2002	Zenit-3SL	Boeing BSS-702
DirecTV-07S !DirecTV-7S	119.0°W	02004-05-04 May 4, 2004	Zenit-3SL	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300
DirecTV-08 !DirecTV-8	100.8°W	02005-05-22 May 22, 2005	Proton M	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300
SPACEWAY-1	102.8°W	02005-04-26 April 26, 2005	Zenit-3SL	Boeing BSS-702
SPACEWAY-2	099.2°W !99.2°W	02005-11-16 November 16, 2005	Ariane 5 ECA	Boeing BSS-702
DirecTV-09 !DirecTV-9S	101.1°W	02006-10-13 October 13, 2006	Ariane 5 ECA	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300
DirecTV-10 !DirecTV-10	102.8°W	02007-07-07 July 7, 2007	Proton M	Boeing BSS-702	5893 kg at GTO[5]
DirecTV-11	099.2°W !99.2°W	02008-03-19 March 19, 2008	Zenit-3SL	Boeing BSS-702	6060 kg at GTO[6]	3700 kg[6]
DirecTV-12	102.8°W	December 28, 2009 [7]	Proton M	Boeing BSS-702
DirecTV-14 [8]	unknown	2013[citation needed]	unknown	Space Systems/Loral LS-1300

*Default sort column

^A DirecTV-2 having reached the end of its useful life span, on April 16, 2007, the FCC granted DirecTV's request to conduct operations to deorbit the satellite, it was subsequently removed from service in May 2007.

^B DirecTV-3 was removed from service in Oct 2002 and sent to a storage orbit as an on-orbit backup. It returned to service in 2003 having been leased to Telesat, which used the satellite as backup for its troubled Nimiq-2 at 82 degrees West under the designation Nimiq-2i. In 2004 the satellite was moved to back up Nimiq-1 and is now operated under the name Nimiq-3.

^C DirecTV-6 went out of service August 15, 2006 and sent to a graveyard orbit having suffered damage from a solar flare in April 1997 as well as other solar array and power fluctuation problems.^[9]

^D Galaxy 3C is operated by Intelsat. DirecTV leases non-DBS FSS transponders for international programming under the auspices of the DirecTV World Direct package.

Details of satellite fleet

Galaxy 3C

Galaxy 3C is a geostationary communications satellite located at 95° W. It was launched on June 15, 2002, with a Sea Launch vehicle, and is currently active on the C and Ku-bands, with 24 transponders for each. Owned by Intelsat, some of the satellite's users include DirecTV's Brazil and Latin America systems, the Racetrack TV Network DBS service, and HughesNet.

Rite-Aid, TJ Maxx, and Chevron use Galaxy 3C as a VSAT platform.

SPACEWAY 1 & SPACEWAY 2

The SPACEWAY satellites were originally designed for use by Hughes Electronics. The satellites were re-purposed for DirecTV after News Corporation purchased a controlling interest in Hughes.

DirecTV-10, DirecTV-11, and DirecTV-12

DirecTV satellites 10, 11, and 12 are Boeing model 702 satellites designed to deliver high definition television to the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.

DirecTV successfully launched its newest satellite, DirecTV-12, on December 28, 2009. ^[7] It became fully operational on May 19, 2010.

See also

• List of broadcast satellites
• SPACEWAY

References

1. ^ Rocket Thrust Equation and Launch Vehicles
2. ^ "DIRECTV 2 (DBS 2)". N2YO.com. http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=23192. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
3. ^ "DIRECTV 6 (TEMPO 2)". N2YO.com. http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=24748. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
4. ^ Proton Launch Advisory: DIRECTV-5
5. ^ ILS Proton to Launch DIRECTV 10
6. ^ ^{a b} DIRECTV 10, 11 and 12
7. ^ ^{a b} DirecTV Press Release December 29, 2009 DIRECTV HD and Movie Choices to Get a Lift With Successful Satellite Launch - DIRECTV 12 Boosts Satellite Fleet's Capacity to More Than 200 HD Channels; Begins Operation First Half of Next Year
8. ^ Space Systems/Loral Selected to Provide High-Power Satellite to DIRECTV Space Systems/Loral Press Release June 11, 2010
9. ^ http://www.tbs-satellite.com/tse/online/sat_tempo_2.html DirecTV-6 details including move to junkyard orbit

External links

• Lyngsat page. Accessed February 19, 2006
• Corporate site Accessed February 19, 2006
• C-band North America Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
• Ku-band North America Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
• Ku-band North America & Puerto Rico Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams