Astra 3A
| Major contractors | Boeing Satellite Systems |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 29 March 2002 |
| Carrier rocket | Ariane 44L V139 |
| Mission duration | 10 years |
| Mass | 1,495 kilograms (3,300 lb) |
| Power | 1,550 W |
| Orbital elements | |
| Inclination | 0.40° |
| Longitude | 23.7° East |
| Transponders | |
| Capacity | 20 Ku band |
| Bandwidth | 36 MHz |
| EIRP | 52 dBW |
Astra 3A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched in 2002 to the Astra 23.5°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio for DTH and cable, multimedia and interactive services, corporate networks, and occasional and other business services to central Europe.
The satellite provides two broadcast beams, of horizontal and vertical polarisation, across two footprints that cover essentially the same areas of Europe – principally the countries of central Europe.[1]
Astra 3A was launched to provide follow-on capacity to replace the DFS-Kopernikus 3 satellite and deliver additional capacity for the Benelux countries and central Europe, to create SES-Astra’s third major European satellite hotspot after Astra 19.2°E and Astra 28.2°E with access to channels at both positions using a single dish fitted with a monoblock Duo LNB.
TV signals can be received with a 50 cm dish across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, most of Denmark, and in parts of France, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Reception is even possible as far afield as Scotland, Sweden and Serbia when a larger dish (around 110 cm) is used.
In addition to contribution feeds and individual TV channels, Astra 3A carried pay-TV networks including Kabel Deutschland (Germany), CanalDigitaal (The Netherlands), TV Vlaanderen (Belgium), CS Link (Slovakia and Czech Republic) and Skylink (Slovakia and Czech Republic).[2] On February 1, 2012 Kabel Deutschland left Astra 3A.[3]
As of October 2012, Astra 3A is in an inclined orbit[4] at 23.7°E[5] with all services carried by the adjacent Astra 3B craft.
See also [edit]
- Astra 3B co-located satellite
- Thor 2 co-located satellite
- Astra 23.5°E orbital position
- SES satellite operator
- Astra satellite family
- DFS-Kopernikus previous position holder
References [edit]
- ^ "Astra 3A". SES. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
- ^ "Astra 3A at 23.5°E". LyngSat. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
- ^ "Kabel Deutschland schaltet Satellitenzuführung endgültig ab". Digital fernsehen. 2 February 2012 (German).
- ^ "Astra 3A Key Data". SES. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
- ^ "Astra 3A". LyngSat.com. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
External links [edit]
- SES guide to receiving Astra satellites
- SES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites
- OnAstra - Official consumers/viewers' site
- SES - Official trade/industry site
- Astra 3A Horizontal beam footprint on SatBeams
- Astra 3A Vertical beam footprint on SatBeams
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