Nahuel 1A

Nahuel 1A was a Spacebus 2000NG satellite manufactured by Aérospatiale in Cannes-Mandelieu and launched on January 30, 1997 by an Ariane 44L launcher. The satellite was located in the -71.8 degrees slot. It was operated by Nahuelsat S.A., the first satellite operator of Argentina from its ground station in Benavidez, province of Buenos Aires. Satellite mass was 1.8T wet, 860 Kg dry. Nominal lifetime was 12 years. It had 18 54 Mhz transponders implemented with 55W TWTAs in three Ku and extended Ku band coverages. It was successfully reorbited in June 2010, when most of the on-board propellant depleted, using the remaining propellant and blowdown helium still stored in the propellant tanks.