AMC-9 (formerly GE-12) is a commercial broadcast
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...
owned by
SES World Skies
SES World Skies was a short lived company formed as a result of the merger between the two SES subsidiaries, ''SES Americom'' and ''SES New Skies''. The company was merged into its parent company, SES S.A. in 2011.
History
SES Americom
...
, part of
SES S.A.
SES S.A. is a Luxembourgish-French satellite telecommunications network provider supplying video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and insti ...
Launched on 6 June 2003, from
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, on the 300th launch of a
Proton family rocket,
AMC-9 is a hybrid
C-band /
Ku-band
The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...
satellite located at 83° West, covering
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. It is owned and operated by SES S.A.,
formerly
SES Americom
SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 and then later acquired by ...
.
300th launch of Proton
A Proton rocket successfully placed the AMC-9 satellite into orbit for
Alcatel Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...
and
SES AMERICOM
SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 and then later acquired by ...
. The launch was conducted by the U.S.-Russian joint venture
International Launch Services
International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) is a joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Angara and Proton rocket launch services. Proton launches take place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan while Angara is l ...
(ILS). This marks the 300th flight of a Proton vehicle, including 38 years of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n federal missions and seven years with commercial flights under the auspices of ILS. Today's mission was the first Proton rocket launch of the year for ILS. The vehicle used today was Proton vehicle with a
Briz-M
The Briz-K, Briz-KM and Briz-M (russian: Бриз-К, КM and M meaning ''Breeze-K, KM and M'') are Russian liquid-propellant rocket orbit insertion upper stages manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on ...
upper stage
A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is ...
, which lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 22:15 on 6 June 2003
UTC. After 8 hours and 55 minutes, the AMC-9 satellite was separated from the Briz-M and placed into geostationary transfer orbit. Satellite builder Alcatel Space of
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, contracted for the launch as a delivery-in-orbit mission.
17 June 2017 serious anomaly
The GEO communications spacecraft AMC-9, formerly known as GE-12, experienced an energetic event estimated to have occurred at approximately 07:10
UTC on 17 June 2017, after approximately 14 years on-orbit. SES S.A., the spacecraft
owner-operator
An owner-operator is a small business or microbusiness owner who also runs the day-to-day operations of the company. Owner-operators are found in many business models and franchising companies in many different industries like restaurant chains, ...
, described this event as a "serious anomaly". Following this event, the spacecraft began a westward drift in the GEO belt. Debris fragments have been observed in the vicinity of the AMC-9 spacecraft. SES has regained control of the spacecraft and has transferred AMC-9 to the so-called
graveyard orbit
A graveyard orbit, also called a junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit that lies away from common operational orbits. One significant graveyard orbit is a supersynchronous orbit well beyond geosynchronous orbit. Some satellites are moved int ...
, a long-term disposal orbit region located above the GEO belt. The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) characterizes this episode as an anomalous event. The spacecraft bus is the popular
Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...
(formerly Alcatel Space)
Spacebus-3000B3 satellite bus
A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held.
Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...
. Spacecraft dry mass is estimated to be on the order of 2000 kg. On-board stored energy sources include fuel and pressurized components, as well as the battery subsystem.
SES claims that it re-established contact with the satellite on 1 July 2017, that it poses no risk of a collision with other active satellites, and that by the end of the day following the anomaly, most of AMC-9's traffic had been transferred to other SES satellites.
References
External links
AMC-9 website from SES S.A.
{{Orbital launches in 2003
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Spacecraft launched in 2003
SES satellites
Satellites using the Spacebus bus
Derelict satellites orbiting Earth