GE-2, called AMC-2 after 2001, is a privately owned American

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

launched in 1997. It was the first of the GE series to be launched outside the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was launched by an

Ariane 44L The Ariane 4 was a European expendable launch vehicle in the Ariane family, developed by the (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). The manufacturing of the launch vehicle was led by Aérospatiale and it was m ...

on 30 January 1997 at 22:04:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

, flying from

ELA-2 The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximately north of the equator at a latitude o ...

Centre Spatial Guyanais The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

alongside another satellite, Nahuel 1A. It was owned by

GE Americom SES Americom was a major commercial communications satellite, 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 ...

until 2001 when the company was sold to SES (Société Européenne des Satellites). The name of the spacecraft was then changed by

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 ...

to AMC-2 later in 2001.

Overview

GE-2 carries 24 Ku-band and 24 C-band

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

. It weighs approximately fully fueled and has a dry mass of . It is stationed at approximately 81° West serving

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. There is also a plan to relocate the satellite to 85° West orbital position. It is powered by two deployable

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

, which charge the batteries. It uses LEROS-1c engines for propulsion.

References

External links

AMC-2
(SES.com) {{SES World Skies SES satellites Communications satellites in geostationary orbit AMC-02 Spacecraft launched in 1997