Astra 2A

Astra 2A

Major contractors	Hughes
Bus	HS-601HP
Launch date	August 30, 1998
Carrier rocket	Proton-K/DM3
Mission duration	15 years
Mass	3,635 kg
Orbital elements
Regime	Geostationary
Longitude	27°E (testing) 28.2°E
Transponders
Capacity	32 Ku band to be reduced to 28 as craft aged.
EIRP	51 dBW
Bandwidth	28x33 MHz

Astra 2A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned by SES. Launched in 1998, half its expected end-of-life capacity of 28 transponders were pre-booked by BSkyB, who utilised it to launch their new Sky Digital service. 21 transponders are active, as of 2006, with two of these active but unused.

The satellite suffered pre-launch technical issues with its apogee motors and was moved to a launch by the Proton rocket rather than the Ariane 5, as the Proton was deemed more suitable considering the craft's precarious state.

When positioned at 28E, it joined DFS Kopernikus 1, which served mainly Eastern Europe. The satellite was the first of Astra's craft to never carry analogue television services (with the exception of a solitary test card in 1999 ), and as of 2006, carries standard definition digital television, digital radio, and high-definition digital television, as well as Sky Interactive streams and the AVC Broadband and Silvermead satellite internet services. Two beams, both of which transmit on horizontal and vertical polarisation, exist - "2A North" and "2A South". The South beam covers almost all of Europe, with the North beam covering only Northern Europe at a high power.

See also

• Astra 2B co-located satellite
• Astra 2C co-located satellite
• Astra 2D co-located satellite
• Astra 28.2°E orbital position
• SES satellite operator
• Astra satellite family

External links

• Astra 2A Ku-band North Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
• Astra 2A Ku-band South Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
• SES guide to receiving Astra satellites
• SES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites
• OnAstra - Official consumers/viewers' site
• SES - Official trade/industry site