Flash! Archive
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001
September 2001
August 2001
July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
December 2000
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000

First Atlas 3B Successfully Launches Echostar 7

More Information:

An Atlas 3B successfully launched Echostar 7 from Cape Canaveral, pad SLC 36B, at 12:43 UTC (4:43 a.m. PST) on February 21. This is the second flight for Lockheed Martin's Atlas 3 launch vehicle series, but the first flight of the Atlas 3B model. The satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigee of 186.41 km (100.7 nmi), an apogee of 57,371.66 km (30,978.2 nmi) and inclination of 22.88 degrees. The contractual requirement was 196.206 km (105.9 nmi) by 40,292 km (21,755.9 nmi) and inclination of 23.1 degrees. The spacecraft will be located in geostationary orbit at 119°W. EchoStar 7 will replace EchoStar 4, which has experienced a series of anomalies impacting its performance.

The 4027 kg (8876 lbm) direct broadcast satellite was built by Lockheed Martin using the A2100AX spacecraft bus. Echostar 7 carries 32 Ku-band transponders capable of operating at 120 watts per channel, which are switchable to 16 transponders capable of operating at 240 watts per channel. Five transponder frequencies may also be used in a spot beam mode for a potential total of 15 spot beams.

EchoStar procured US$125 million of insurance for the launch of EchoStar 7, to protect against the risk of total launch vehicle failure not attributable to the satellite, from launch through separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle. EchoStar has not secured in-orbit insurance for EchoStar 7, due to the current market for in-orbit insurance.

The Lockheed Martin Atlas 3 and 5 families use the same RD-180 engines and similar avionics. The new Common Centaur upper stage has been designed for use by Atlas 3B and all Atlas 5 launchers. With this flight, Lockheed Martin estimates about 85 percent of the Atlas 5 will have been tested in flight, reducing the risk for the inaugural Atlas 5 flight scheduled in May. The only major component remaining to be tested for the inaugural Atlas 5 configuration will be the Common Core Booster, which serves as the first stage for all Atlas 5s. During the past decade, Lockheed Martin has launched five new Atlas models, all successfully, and all carrying paying satellite customers.

SPACEandTECH Digest is a weekly roundup of the latest industry news of interest to the space professional. SPACEandTECH Flash! is an internet push service offered by Andrews Space & Technology to bring the latest on orders, launches, and important breaking news to your desktop. SPACEandTECH Digest and SPACEandTECH Flash! are part of the Andrews Space & Technology www.spaceandtech.com website, a website designed to serve the information needs of the space industry.

If you would like to subscribe to the SPACEandTECH Flash! (currently a free service), contact the www.spaceandtech.com Editor-in-Chief, Joe Hopkins, at editor@spaceandtech.com

February 21, 2002