Superbird-2, also identified as Superbird-B after launch if successful, 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 Ear ...

designed and manufactured 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 d ...

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 pla ...

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- ...

. It was originally ordered by Space Communications Corporation (SCC), which later merged into the

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 ...

. It had a mixed

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 ...

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 ...

and

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...

payload and was lost at launch. It was ordered in 1985 along

Superbird-A Superbird-A, also identified as Superbird-1 before launch, was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Ford Aerospace) on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It was originally ordered by Space Communications Corporation ( ...

Superbird-A1 Superbird-A1, also identified as Superbird-1A before launch, was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Ford Aerospace (now Space Systems/Loral) on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It was originally ordered by Space C ...

and

Superbird-B1 Superbird-B1, sometimes identified as Superbird-1B, was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Ford Aerospace on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It was originally ordered by Space Communications Corporation (SCC), whi ...

on the very first order of the SSL 1300 platform. It was to be the second satellite of SCC. It was supposed to be used for video distribution, news gathering, remote publishing and high definition TV service to the main islands of Japan and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

from the 162° East position.

Satellite description

The spacecraft was the second satellite designed and manufactured by

on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It was based on the design of the

Intelsat V Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...

series and offered a

three-axis stabilized Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle/satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, et ...

platform. It had a launch mass of and a 10-year design life. When stowed for launch, its dimensions were . With its

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

fully extended it spanned . Its power system generated approximately 4 kW of power due to two wings with three solar panels each. It also had dual NiH₂ battery to survive the solar eclipses. It was supposed to serve as the main satellite on the 162° East position of the Superbird fleet. Its propulsion system included an R-4D-11 liquid apogee engine (LAE) with a thrust of . It included enough propellant for orbit circularization and 10 years of operation.

History

Space Communications Corporation (SCC) was founded in 1985, the same year as the original companies that later formed JSAT. In 1986, SCC ordered four spacecraft from

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 cu ...

Superbird-1 Superbird-A, also identified as Superbird-1 before launch, was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Ford Aerospace) on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It was originally ordered by Space Communications Corporation ( ...

, Superbird-2,

and

. On 22 February 1990, at 23:17:00 UTC, Superbird-2 was launched aboard an

Ariane 44L The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the '' Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arian ...

along with

BS-2X Yuri, also known as Broadcasting Satellite or BS, was a series of Japanese direct broadcast satellites. The first satellite of this series, called BSE or Yuri 1, was launched in 1978. The last BS series satellite, BS-3b (Yuri 3b), was launched ...

. At 100 seconds into the flight, the flight failed due to a red handkerchief that blocked a water line in one of the Viking engines of the first stage. Both satellites were lost, and

was rushed into launch.

References

{{Orbital launches in 1989 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the SSL 1300 bus Spacecraft launched in 1989 Communications satellites of Japan 1989 in Japan