Ekspress-AMU1 (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: ), also known as Eutelsat 36C, is a

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...

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. C ...

operated by

Russian Satellite Communications Company Federal State Unitary Enterprise Satellite Communications (russian: ФГУП «Космическая связь») or Russian Satellite Communications Company is the main state operator of communications satellites. It is the Russian operator ...

(RSCC) and designed and manufactured by

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

on the

Eurostar-3000 The Eurostar E3000 is a generic satellite model most commonly used for commercial and military communications satellites manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space (formerly Astrium). It is a member of Airbus Defence and Space's Eurostar family. I ...

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-d ...

for its Ekspress constellation. It massed at launch, had a power production capacity of 15 kW and a 15-year design life. Its payload is composed of 61

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

and 10

Ka-band The Ka band (pronounced as either "kay-ay band" or "ka band") is a portion of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as frequencies in the range 26.5–40 gigahertz (GHz), i.e. wavelengths from slightly over one centime ...

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 ...

Eutelsat 36C

Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat's satellit ...

leased much of its capacity

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

and

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

for Russia and

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

, and positioned it in the 36° East under the Eutelsat 36C designation. It is part of the Ekspress constellation of RSCC.

History

On 2 November 2012, Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) and EUTELSAT announced a 15-year agreement to lease capacity on two satellites to be launched in 2013 and 2015. It would be used for broadcasting and IP services and was valued at 300 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. The first satellite was Ekspress-AT2, already on order, and the second was Ekspress-AMU1, which construction was to be bid later that year. During 2012, RSCC organized a competition among

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 18 ...

(later Airbus Defense and Space),

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 manufacture ...

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates MDA Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics & space operations, and satellite systems. History MDA (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) was founde ...

(MDA) and

JSC Information Satellite Systems JSC Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (russian: Информационные спутниковые системы имени академика М. Ф. Решетнёва, Informatsionnye sputnikovye systemy imeny akademika M. F. Reshetnyov ...

(ISS Reshetnev) to build Ekspress-AMU1. EUTELSAT participated from the selection committee since they intended to lease capacity on board the satellite. In May 2013, Airbus announced that it had been awarded a contract by RSCC to build Ekspress-AMU1. Also known as EUTELSAT 36C, it would be the follow up of

Eutelsat 36A Eutelsat 36A (formerly Eutelsat W4 and Eutelsat 3 F-4) is a French communications satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications. It was constructed by Alcatel Space and is based on the Spacebus-3000B2 satellite bus. Launch Eutelsat W4 was ...

at the 36° East. Based on the Eurostar-3000 it would mass around at launch, have an end of life power production of 15 kW and a design life of 15 years. It was expected to be launched by a

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 Kaz ...

in 2015. Airbus bid, while slightly more expensive than Thales, promised to deliver the satellite seven months earlier.

Launch

By early 2015, the satellite was planned for a September or October 2015 launch, but the satellite was delivered to the launch site in

Baikonur Baikonur ( kk, Байқоңыр, ; russian: Байконур, translit=Baykonur), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered ...

on 12 November 2015. The launch was then set for 23 December 2015, but weather conditions required a day delay. On 24 December 2015, at 21:31:19 UTC, a

Briz-M The Briz-K, Briz-KM and Briz-M (russian: Бриз-К, КM and M meaning ''Breeze-K, KM and M'') are Russian liquid-propellant rocket orbit insertion upper stages manufactured by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and used on ...

successfully launched from Site 200/39.

Mission

On 1 January 2016, RSCC announced that Ekspress-AMU1 had reached the

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

. On 10 February 2016, signals from EUTELSAT 36A were switched to Ekspress-AMU1 marking the final commissioning of the satellite into service.

References

External links

RSCC Ekspress-AMU1 Page
{{Orbital launches in 2015 Ekspress AMU1 Spacecraft launched in 2015 2015 in Russia Satellites using the Eurostar bus