Astra 2B
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | SES |
| COSPAR ID | 2000-054A |
| SATCAT no. | 26494 |
| Website | https://www.ses.com |
| Mission duration | Planned: 15 years Final: <20 years and 9 months |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Eurostar |
| Bus | Eurostar E2000+ |
| Manufacturer | Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) |
| Launch mass | 3,315 kg (7,308 lb) |
| Power | 7.8 kW |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 September 2000, 22:44:47 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 5G (V130) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Entered service | November 2000 |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated | June 2021 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | Astra 28.2°E (2000-2013) Astra 19.2°E (2013-2014) Astra 31.5°E (2014-2016) Astra 19.2°E (2016-2017) 20° West (2017-2018) Astra 19.2°E (2018-2021) |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 30 Ku-band |
| Bandwidth | 33 MHz |
| Coverage area | Europe, Middle East, Africa |
Astra 2B is an Astra communications satellite, owned and operated by SES. Launched in September 2000 to join Astra 2A at the Astra 28.2°E orbital position providing digital television and radio broadcast services to the United Kingdom and Ireland, the satellite has also served at the Astra 19.2°E and the Astra 31.5°E positions.
History
[edit]The satellite provides two broadcast beams, each with horizontal and vertical polarisation, across two footprints - 2B North (covering Central Europe and Scandinavia) and 2B South (covering Central Europe and the Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands).[2]
While at 28.2° East, television signals could be received with a 43 cm dish across the majority of the British Isles with a 60 cm dish required in the extreme north and west, although the official footprint maps now show a 60 cm dish as required across all of Western Europe.[3] At 28.2° East, 17 transponders on Astra 2B were used by BSkyB to provide the Sky Digital television services of standard and high-definition television (HDTV) and digital radio.[4] Astra 2B could also provide backup capacity, substituting for one or more transponders across the whole 10.70-12.75 GHz range used by Astra satellites in the Astra 19.2°E and Astra 28.2°E orbital positions. A third, steerable beam provides 8 transponders in the 12.50-12.75 GHz range for Internet and telecommunications services in West Africa. This aspect of the satellite was originally the commercial responsibility of SES New Skies (now incorporated into SES).[citation needed]
Following the launch of Astra 2F to 28.2° East, in February 2013, Astra 2B started its planned move from that position to Astra 19.2°E, to serve alongside Astra 1KR, Astra 1L, Astra 1M, and Astra 2C,[5] arriving in position by 27 February 2013.[6] In January 2014, Astra 2B moved to the Astra 31.5°E orbital position, pending the delayed launch of Astra 5B to that position and stayed there as back-up[7] until it was moved back to 19.2° East in December 2016.[8] In June 2017, it was moved west at approximately 0.6°/day to arrive alongside NSS-7 at 20° West in August 2017.[9] From April 2018 to July 2018, Astra 2B was moved east at 0.6°/day to Astra 19.2°E.[10] Since June 2021, Astra 2B has been non-operational and moving west at approximately 4.9°/day.[11]
See also
[edit]
- Astra 19.2°E previous orbital position
- Astra 31.5°E previous orbital position
- Astra 28.2°E previous orbital position
- Astra 2A
- Astra 2C
- Astra 2D
- Astra 2E
- Astra 2F
- Astra 2G
- SES (operator)
- Astra satellite family
References
[edit]- ↑ "ASTRA 2B". N2YO.com. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ↑ "Astra 2B Footprints". SES. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ↑ "ASTRA 2B". SES. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ↑ "Astra 2B at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Archived from the original on 11 August 2008. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
- ↑ Our global satellite fleet SES booklet November 2012 Archived 2012-08-16 at the Wayback Machine fleet plan for 2015. Accessed 15 February 2013
- ↑ Astra 2B in lyngsat.com SatTracker Accessed 27 February 2013
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions - Astra 2B Accessed 20 February 2014
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 29 December 2016
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 28 August 2017
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 27 July 2018
- ↑ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 26 June 2021