N-STAR a, was 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 ...

originally ordered by a consortium including NTT DoCoMo and

JSAT Corporation JSAT Corporation (JSAT) was the first private Japanese satellite operator, which owned the JSAT satellites, as well as operated and partially owned the N-Star with NTT DoCoMo. Its origins can be traced to the funding of Japan Communications ...

, and later fully acquired by JSAT, which was merged into

SKY Perfect JSAT Group The SKY Perfect JSAT Group is a Japanese corporate group that claims to be Asia's largest satellite communication and multi-channel pay TV company. It owns the SKY PerfecTV! satellite broadcasting service and the SKY Perfect Well Think content s ...

. It was designed and manufactured 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 ...

on the

SSL 1300 The SSL 1300, previously the LS-1300 and the FS-1300, is a satellite bus produced by Maxar Technologies. Total broadcast power ranges from 5 to 25 kW, and the platform can accommodate from 12 to 150 transponders. The SSL 1300 is a modular platf ...

platform. It had a launch weight of , and a 10-year design life. Its payload is composed of 6 C-band, 11

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 ...

, 8

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 1 S-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 ...

History

N-Star was created as a joint venture between JSAT,

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone , commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked 55th in ''Fortune'' Global 500, NTT is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue, as well as the third la ...

(NTT),

NTT Communications , or NTT Com, is a Japanese telecommunications company which operates an international network in over 190 countries/regions, with locations in more than 70 countries/regions. The company has approximately 5,500 employees (NTT Communications ...

and NTT DoCoMo for the supply of these latter two ''WIDESTAR'' satellite telephone and data packet service. JSAT would handle the satellite side of business and NTT DoCoMo would operate the payload. Two identical satellites were ordered on 1992 from Space Systems Loral, N-STAR a and

N-STAR b N-STAR b, was a geostationary communications satellite originally ordered by a consortium including NTT DoCoMo and JSAT Corporation, and later fully acquired by JSAT, which was merged into SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It was designed and manufactur ...

, for 1995 and 1996 on orbit delivery. They would be "switchboards in the sky" having S-band, C-band, Ka-band and Ku-band payload. N-STAR a was successfully launched aboard an Ariane 44P on 29 August 1995. Its twin, N-STAR b, launched on 5 February 1996, also aboard an Ariane 44P. The satellite telephone service was operational in March 1996. In March 2000, the packet communications service was introduced. In March 2000, JSAT received the

interest in the N-STAR a and N-STAR b. In August 2003, the JSAT acquired the NTT DoCoMo interest on N-STAR a and N-STAR b, whom then leased them back.

References

External links

JSAT Fleet Status
{{Orbital launches in 1995 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the SSL 1300 bus Spacecraft launched in 1995 Communications satellites of Japan Satellites of Japan

History

See also

References

External links