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; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...
launched in 1997. It was the first of the GE series to be launched outside the
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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
.
It was launched by an
Ariane 44L on 30 January 1997 at 22:04:00
UTC, flying from
ELA-2,
Centre Spatial Guyanais
The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximat ...
alongside another satellite,
Nahuel 1A. It was owned by
GE Americom 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 b ...
to AMC-2 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 tra ...
. It weighs approximately fully fueled and has a dry mass of . It is stationed at approximately 81° West serving the
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
. There is also a plan to relocate the satellite to 85° West orbital position.
It is powered by two deployable
solar panels
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
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