AsiaSat 6 / Thaicom 7 is a geostationary

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 ...

which is operated by the Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company (AsiaSat) and was launched into orbit on 7 September 2014. The satellite project was developed in cooperation between satellite operators

AsiaSat Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited, known by its brand name AsiaSat, is a commercial operator of communication spacecraft. AsiaSat, based in Hong Kong, is incorporated in Bermuda. AsiaSat is jointly owned by Chinese state-owned ...

and

Thaicom Thaicom Public Company Limited is a Thai satellite operator and provider of satellite and telecommunication services since 1991. The company operates a fleet of currently four satellites covering Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Thaicom is a subsidiar ...

. AsiaSat owns half of the satellite's 28 transponders which are marketed as AsiaSat 6. The other half of the satellite is owned by Thaicom and is marketed as Thaicom 7. AsiaSat's part of the satellite is operated under license of the China (PRC), whereas Thaicom's part is operated under license of Thailand.

Satellite description

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), announced in November 2011 that it has been chosen by AsiaSat, to build the AsiaSat 6 and

AsiaSat 8 AsiaSat 8 then AMOS-7 is a Hong Kong-turned- Israeli geostationary communications satellite which is operated by the Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company (Asiasat). Satellite description AsiaSat 8 was built by Space Systems/Loral, and ...

communications satellites. AsiaSat 6 / Thaicom 7 was built by

Space Systems/Loral SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies. SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial cus ...

, and is based on the LS-1300LL

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- ...

. The satellite carries 28 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 tran ...

and is positioned at a

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

of 120° East, providing coverage over southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, Australia and New Zealand.

Launch

SpaceX was contracted to launch AsiaSat 6 / Thaicom 7 using a

Falcon 9 v1.1 Falcon 9 v1.1 was the second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle. The rocket was developed in 2011–2013, made its maiden launch in September 2013, and its final flight in January 2016. The Falcon 9 rocket was fully designed ...

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 ...

. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...

(CCAFS) on 7 September 2014, at.

Falcon 9 Upper stage

The Falcon 9

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 ...

used to launch AsiaSat 6 / Thaicom 7 was derelict in a decaying elliptical

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

from September to December 2014. Initially, on 9 September 2014, it orbited with a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

of and an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...

of . One month on, in October 2014, the orbit had decayed to an altitude of at its closest approach to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, and by November 2014 had decayed to a perigee. The derelict second stage reentered the atmosphere on 28 December 2014.

Thaicom 7

Satellite fleet operator

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

has agreed in December 2011 to pay competitor AsiaSat US$171 million over 15 years for the use of one-half of an AsiaSat satellite and placed in a Thai orbital position in an arrangement that permits Thailand to preserve its rights to the orbital position under the agreement, the AsiaSat 6 satellite is at 120° East longitude. Before its launch, AsiaSat and Thaicom placed AsiaSat 2 as an interim satellite at 120° East to retain Thailand's regulatory rights to the orbital position.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2014 AsiaSat satellites SpaceX commercial payloads Thaicom satellites Spacecraft launched in 2014 Satellites using the SSL 1300 bus

Satellite description

Launch

Falcon 9 Upper stage

Thaicom 7

See also

References