AMC-11 , previously GE-11, is an American geostationary

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

which is operated by SES. It is currently positioned in

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 orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

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 lett ...

of 131° West, from where it is used to relay

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

for onward distribution. It broadcasts to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. SES and

Telesat Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company (law), company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa. History Founding and privatization (1969-2005) Telesat began in 1969 as Telesat C ...

have agreed that Telesat will buy the satellite to replace the failing Anik F2 satellite in its Anik fleet. Permission from the FCC is pending; once issued, the satellite will be repositioned to 111.1° West. Hitherto the satellite is owned by SES and used to relay cable television across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Spacecraft

AMC-11 was built by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, and is based on the A2100A

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 less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

. It was originally ordered by

GE Americom SES Americom was a major commercial communications satellite, satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 ...

as GE-11, however following the merger of GE Americom and SES, it was redesignated AMC-11 while still under construction. It is equipped with 24

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 ...

operating in the C-band. At launch it had a mass of , with an expected operational lifespan of around fifteen years. On December 1, 2022, AMC 11 ends its life cycle and was replaced by the SES 21 satellite.

Launch

The launch of AMC-11, which was conducted by

International Launch Services International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) is a joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Angara and Proton rocket launch services. Proton launches take place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan while Angara is l ...

, was the penultimate flight and last commercial launch of the

Atlas II Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. The Atlas II was a direct evolution of the Atlas I, featuring longer first-stage tanks, higher-perfor ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

, which flew in the Atlas IIAS configuration. The launch occurred from SLC-36B 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 sta ...

, at 22:22:01

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on 19 May 2004. The launch successfully placed AMC-11 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit by means of a LEROS-1c apogee motor. Its insertion into geosynchronous orbit occurred on 24 May 2004.

Galaxy 15

In late May and early June 2010, the Galaxy 15 satellite, which had failed with its transponders still broadcasting, passed close to AMC-11. Since Galaxy 15 broadcast on similar frequencies to AMC-11,

interference Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to: Communications * Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message * Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extra ...

from its transponders could have affected signals originating from AMC-11. As a result, AMC-11 was manoeuvred out of the way of Galaxy 15, and the

SES-1 SES-1 is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES World Skies, then by SES History It was originally ordered by SES Americom as a ground spare for AMC-5R, however in April 2008 a decision was made to launch it, a ...

satellite was brought in to provide backup in case AMC-11 could not continue broadcasting. Galaxy 15 passed within 0.2° of AMC-11, however no service interruptions occurred.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2004 Spacecraft launched in 2004 SES satellites Satellites using the A2100 bus

Spacecraft

Launch

Galaxy 15

See also

References