AfriStar (sometimes known as AfriStar 1) is a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

formerly owned and operated by the company

1worldspace 1worldspace, known for most of its existence simply as WorldSpace, is a defunct satellite radio network that in its heyday provided service to over 170,000 subscribers in eastern, southern and northern Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia w ...

(formerly known as WorldStar) and now owned and operated by Yazmi USA. The satellite was built by

EADS Astrium Astrium was an aerospace manufacturer subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) that provided civil and military space systems and services from 2006 to 2013. In 2012, Astrium had a turnover of €5.8 billion and 1 ...

(formerly known as

Matra Marconi Space Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was a Franco-British aerospace company. History Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication divisions of the Lagardère Group ( Matra Espace) and the GEC ...

) and Alcatel Space. Based on Astrium's Eurostar E2000+ bus design, the geostationary orbit satellite broadcast digital radio programs in the

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 ...

frequency (1452–1492 MHz range).

Launch

Afristar was launched on 28 October 1998 at 22:16:00 UTC, by an Ariane 44L

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...

(V-113) from the Centre Spatial Guyanais, at Kourou, since the pad

ELA-2 ELA-2, short for Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 2 (French for Ariane Launch Area 2), was a launch pad at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. It was used by Arianespace for two Ariane 3 launches (V17 in 1986, V25 in 1988), the second Ariane ...

. AfriStar was the first WorldSpace satellite. It broadcast digital radio over

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Small handheld radios were able to pick up the transmissions from its three

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 ...

beams, each beam covering approximately 14 million km² on the Earth. The satellite carried from 24 to 96 radio channels with on-board processing to allow variable bit rates from mono to CD audio quality transmission. The broadcasters send their programs up to the satellite with a small

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...

ground station. The satellites had a design life of 12 years, with an orbital maneuver life of 15 years, which means that each satellite has been designed and fueled to maintain its assigned orbital position (within 0.1°) for 15 years. After that point, the satellite must be decommissioned. The AfriStar satellite developed a defect in its solar panels. As a result of this defect, the energy collected by those panels was less than intended. In March 2010, WorldStar announced that it was considering disposing of its satellites by boosting them to a higher orbit and expending their remaining fuel. It was repurposed in 2010 for Samara's Yazmi online education company and then sold on in 2017 to

CMMB China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB) is a mobile television and multimedia standard developed and specified in China by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT). It is based on the Satellite and Terrestrial Interacti ...

/Hong Kong's Silkwave broadcasting operator, now part of CMMB Vision. On 6 January 2018, the Afristar satellite's orbit was raised to the

GEO Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. The satellite was retired after 20 years service at the 21.0° East location.

Sister satellites

The AfriStar satellite has a sister satellite,

AsiaStar AsiaStar is an American communications satellite which was operated by 1worldspace. It was constructed by Matra Marconi Space with Alcatel Space based on the Eurostar E2000+ bus design. Launch occurred on 21 March 2000, at 23:29:00 UTC. Th ...

satellite, an exact copy, built by the same companies, formerly owned and operated by 1worldspace and now owned and operated by Yazmi USA. In addition to AfriStar and AsiaStar, another similar satellite was built by the same companies for 1worldspace. This satellite was known as AmeriStar (originally CaribStar) and was purposed to serve

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and the Caribbean from 95.0° West. The satellite was however not launched as the L-band frequencies used by 1worldspace are commandeered by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. This satellite was reconfigured and was since known as AfriStar 2. AfriStar 2 was to be launched to 21.0° East in August 2007. This launch did not happen. This satellite was intended to expand coverage for Western Europe in addition to the existing coverage of AfriStar 1, which it would have eventually replaced. 1worldspace would have used ETSI Satellite Digital Radio (SDR) open standard in the new European coverage beam.http://www.1worldspace.com/press/01_04_2006.html The AfriStar 2 (AmeriStar, CaribStar) satellite was never launched, although its build was completed. Its last known status was in storage at

's and

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 manufactur ...

facilities in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Stevenage,

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Another satellite of identical design (known as WorldStar 4), for which long lead parts had been procured and partially assembled, was at one point also maintained in storage in Toulouse, France. The intention was to have this satellite integrated and tested for a future launch in an abbreviated period of time. This satellite was never completed, and its components have since been cannibalized to other projects.

Gallery

File:WorldSpace Afristar control room.jpg, 1worldspace's AfriStar control center in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

File:Hitachi-worldspace-rx.jpg, Original Hitachi 1worldspace receiver File:BPL OneWorld.JPG, A BPL 1worldspace receiver on a Stereo System

References

External links

* {{Orbital launches in 1998 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 1998

Launch

Sister satellites

Gallery

See also

References

External links