Intelsat V F-1 (or Intelsat 501) was 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 ...

built by

Ford Aerospace Ford Aerospace was the aerospace and defense division of Ford Motor Company. It was based in Dearborn, Michigan and was active from 1956 (originally as Philco and then Philco Ford) through 1990, when it was sold to the Loral Corporation. Major div ...

, it was owned by

COMSAT COMSAT (Communications Satellite Corporation) is a global telecommunications company based in the United States. By 2007, it had branches in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and several other countries in the Americas. A ...

. Launched in 1981, it was the second of fifteen Intelsat V satellites to be launched. The satellite was based on the Intelsat V platform and its estimated useful life was seven years.

Satellite

The satellite was box-shaped, measuring 1.66 by 2.1 by 1.77 metres;

solar arrays A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and c ...

spanned 15.9 metres tip to tip. The arrays, supplemented by nickel-hydrogen batteries during

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

, provided 1800 watts of power. The payload housed 21 C-band and 4 Ku-band transponders. It could accommodate 15,000 two-way voice circuits and two TV channels simultaneously. It had a launch mass of 1928 kg. The satellite was deactivated in February 1997.

Launch

The satellite was successfully launched into space on 23 May 1981, at 22:42:00 UTC, by means of an Atlas SLV-3D Centaur vehicle from the CCAFS, LC-36B.

References

Spacecraft launched in 1981 Intelsat satellites 1981 in spaceflight {{spacecraft-stub

Satellite

Launch

See also

References