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Proton
Successfully Launches Astra 2C
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A Proton K/DM3
successfully launched Astra 2C from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Launch
Complex 81, Pad 23, at 0149 UTC (6:49 p.m. PDT, June 15) on June
16. The satellite is owned and operated  by
Société Européenne des Satellites (SES). The satellite will
initially be positioned at 19.2°E. The satellite will eventually
be the fourth satellite to be permanently co-located at the
orbital position of 28.2°E, after the ASTRA 1K satellite is
launched later this year.
The
Boeing built BSS 601HP satellite weighed 3,643 kg (8,029 lbm) at
launch. The 8.500 kW satellite carries 40 Ku-band transponders,
each with 98.5 W minimum traveling wave tube amplifiers. At
beginning of satellite life, 32 transponders
will be operational, with 28 at end of life. The flexible payload
design of Astra 2C enables SES to operate 32 channels at a given
time, selectable from a total of 56 channels possible. The design
enables SES to adjust its payload configuration throughout the
life of the satellite in order to meet customer transponder
requirements. The spacecraft will provide pan-European coverage
from SES's orbital slots at 19.2 or 28.2 degrees East longitude
The satellite has a design life of 15 years.
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