The Mexican Satellite System, also known as MEXSAT, is a network of three satellites bought by the
Mexican government's Ministry of Communications and Transportation. The three satellites are named Mexsat-1, Mexsat-2, and
Mexsat-3
Mexsat-3, also known as Mexsat Bicentenario or simply Bicentenario, is the first of three Mexican satellites forming the MEXSAT telecommunications network, and is named to commemorate the bicentennial of the Independence of Mexico. It was launch ...
. Subsequently, they have also been named Centenario, Morelos III and Bicentenario respectively.
Mexsat-1 and Mexsat-2 are twin satellites for mobile communication devices and will operate in the electromagnetic frequencies of the
L and
Ku bands. Mexsat-3 will operate in the range of the extended
C and K
u bands.
Together these three satellites will form the whole system, operated by the
Ministry of Communications and Transportation.
The system is expected to meet the telecommunications needs of the whole country.
Two control centres have been built in
Hermosillo
Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the ...
from which the new satellites will be operated. They were inaugurated by the then-president
Felipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 ...
on 29 November 2012.
History
On 20 August 2009, the National Security Program of
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 ...
announced the MEXSAT project as a means by which to preserve security in Mexico. It is developed by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation and on 17 December 2010 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
United States of America
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 territo ...
, the Federal Government signed a contract for the acquisition of the MEXSAT system by
Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc.
On 28 June 2011 a contract is signed with
Arianespace SA, who will provide the launch services for Mexsat-3.
On 6 February 2012 a contract is signed with
International Launch Services (ILS) to provide the launch services for Mexsat-1.
In April 2012 the government renames the satellites from Mexsat-1, 2 and 3 to Centenario, Morelos III and Bicentenario.
Mexsat-1
The first of the three satellites which formed the MEXSAT system was Centenario (originally Mexsat-1), named to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the
Mexican Revolution. It was a
Boeing 702HP communications satellite completed in November 2013.
It was equipped with an
L band
The L band is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designation for the range of frequencies in the radio spectrum from 1 to 2 gigahertz (GHz). This is at the top end of the ultra high frequency (UHF) band, at the lower en ...
reflector and a
Ku band antenna. It had an estimated lifespan of 15 years.
The satellite was launched on an
ILS Proton-M
The Proton-M, (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or , is an expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet-developed Proton. It is built by Khrunichev, and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Ka ...
rocket on 16 May 2015. However, 490 seconds after lift-off a technical failure in the third stage of the craft caused the destruction of the satellite, which burned up in the atmosphere and fell into
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
.
Mexsat-2
The second satellite, Morelos III (originally Mexsat-2) was due to be launched in the last quarter of 2014 but was held back. It instead was launched on October 2, 2015, aboard a
United Launch Alliance
United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, ...
Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Mart ...
.
It is identical in design and function to Mexsat-1, in that it is a
Boeing 702HP fitted with the same equipment.
It was the second satellite in the network to achieve orbit. It is named after a previous Mexican Satellite Network,
Morelos Satellite System.
Mexsat-3
The third satellite, Bicentenario (originally Mexsat-3), is so named to commemorate the bicentennial of
Mexican Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
. Instead of being a Boeing 702Hp like its counterparts, Mexsat-3 is instead a
GEOStar-2 manufactured by
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
. It was launched on 19 December 2012 from a base in
Kourou
Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It i ...
,
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
, becoming the first satellite in the network to achieve orbit (contrary to its name).
See also
*
References
{{reflist, 2
Communications satellite operators
Space program of Mexico
Telecommunications in Mexico