Astra 2F
Mission type | Communications |
---|---|
Operator | SES |
COSPAR ID | 2012-051A |
SATCAT no. | 38778 |
Mission duration | 15 years |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | Eurostar E3000 |
Manufacturer | Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | September 28, 2012, 21:18:07 | UTC
Rocket | Ariane 5 ECA V209 |
Launch site | Kourou ELA-3 |
Contractor | Arianespace |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Geostationary |
Longitude | 43.5°E (2012, testing) 28.2° East (2012-) |
Slot | Astra 28.2°E |
Perigee altitude | 35,778 kilometres (22,231 mi)[1] |
Apogee altitude | 35,805 kilometres (22,248 mi)[1] |
Inclination | 0.02 degrees[1] |
Period | 1436.05 minutes[1] |
Epoch | 22 January 2015, 22:20:58 UTC[1] |
Astra 2F is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched in September 2012 to the Astra 28.2°E orbital slot.[2] The satellite provides free-to-air and encrypted direct-to-home (DTH) digital TV and satellite broadband services for Europe and Africa.
Astra 2F is the first of three ‘second generation’ satellites for the 28.2°E position which replace the first generation Astra 2A, Astra 2B and Astra 2D craft previously there.[3] The second, Astra 2E, was launched in 2013[4] and the third, Astra 2G, was launched in 2014[5] (launched on December 27, 2014[6]). Some parts of the construction of Astra 2F by Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) in Stevenage, UK could be seen in the BBC2 documentary programme, How To Build… A Satellite broadcast on November 27, 2011.
Astra 2F was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana on September 28, 2012.[7] and underwent in-orbit testing at 43.5°E.[8] Commercial operations at 28.2°E began on November 21, 2012.[9]
Market
The Astra 28.2°E position was established in 1998 to provide digital TV, digital radio and multimedia services to the UK and Republic of Ireland, and Astra 2F's primary mission is to continue this provision as replacement and follow-on capacity to the Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Astra 2D and Astra 1N satellites, delivering programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000 IPTV homes in the UK and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major UK digital satellite TV platforms, BSkyB and Freesat.[10]
In addition, Astra 2F serves the growing DTH platforms in West Africa such as Ghana's MultiTV.
Astra 2F is also designed to provide SES Broadband’s first commercial Ka-band satellite broadband service in Europe, with a Ka-band payload delivering high-speed Internet access (at download speeds up to 20Mbit/s) along with VoIP, and IPTV from November 2012.
Broadcasting footprint
Astra 2F has three Ku-band downlink beams covering Europe and Africa. The Europe beam is centred on the English Channel with maximum signal (for reception on a 40 cm dish) over the UK, Ireland, France, Benelux, and parts of Germany, Austria, and Spain (including a "lobe" specifically designed to serve the Canary Islands which officially requires a 120 cm dish but in practise is easily receivable using a 90 cm dish as with Astra 2E), and reception on a 1m dish extending to North Africa, Poland and the Balkans.
The UK Spot beam provides maximum signal (40 cm dishes) over the UK, Ireland, Benelux and Northern France in close approximation of the UK Beam of Astra 2D, which it replaces.[11] Due to the tight footprint, some reception issues for UK channels are being reported in Spain as of December 2012. Early reports of test transmissions on 11.023 GHz H 23000 DVB-S2 suggest the beam is very tight with a very sharp fall off to the west and east of the footprint, but eastern Spain seems to be getting a higher signal strength possibly due to the off-axis beam as 28.2°E on the geostationary arc is not directly in line with the UK but offset to the east.[citation needed]
The West Africa beam provides for reception with 60 cm dishes across southern West Africa from Senegal to Nigeria, with a lower signal level (80 cm dishes) extending across the Democratic Republic of Congo.[12]
The Ka-band footprint for satellite broadband provides full service coverage across western Europe from the UK and France in the west to the Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the east.[13]
Active Transponders
Below is a list of the TV channels broadcast to Europe from active transponders on Astra 2F as of January 2021[update]:[14]
In the list, channels broadcast with a one-hour delay are shown Channel +1hr. Where both the original and the delayed channel are broadcast from the same transponder, this is shown in one entry as Channel [also +1hr].
UK Beam
Tp109 11.306 GHz H 27500 5/6 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- BT Sport Extra 1-6
- BT Sport mosaic
Tp110 11.306 GHz V 27500 5/6:
- Pop [also +1hr]
- Pop Max [also +1hr]
- Sony Channel UK [also +1hr]
- Sony Movies [also +1hr]
- Sony Movies Action [also +1hr]
- Sony Movies Classic [also +1hr]
- Tiny Pop [also +1hr]
Tp111 11.344 GHz H 27500 5/6:
- BT Sport 2 (encrypted in Videoguard)
- BT Sport ESPN (encrypted in Videoguard)
- HGTV UK [also +1hr]
- PBS America
- Really UK
- Really Ireland
- TLC UK HD (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Trace Vault
Tp112 11.344 GHz V 27500 5/6:
- BT Sport 1 (encrypted in Videoguard)
- BT Sport 3 (encrypted in Videoguard)
- BT Sport Mosaic (encrypted in Videoguard)
- CBS Drama Ireland
- CBS Drama UK
- CBS Justice Ireland
- CBS Justice UK
- CBS Reality Ireland
- CBS Reality UK [also +1hr]
- Horror Channel UK [also +1hr]
- S4C
- Trace Hits
European Beam
Tp21 12.110 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Dave UK HD
- E! UK HD
- National Geographic UK HD
- Sky Cinema Animation HD
- Sky History 2 HD
- Sony Max UK HD
- Syfy UK HD
- TG 4 HD
Tp22 12.129 GHz V 27500 5/6:
- Alibi UK [also +1hr] (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Dave UK
- Dave Ireland
- Dave ja vu
- Drama Ireland
- Drama UK [also +1hr]
- Eden [also +1hr] (encrypted in Videoguard)
- GOLD UK [also +1hr] (encrypted in Videoguard)
- W UK [also +1hr] (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Yesterday [also +1hr]
Tp23 12.148 GHz H 27500 5/6 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- British Eurosport 1
- British Eurosport 2
- Fox UK +1hr
- Pick Ireland (unencrypted)
- Sky Atlantic Ireland
- Sky Atlantic UK [also +1hr]
- Sky Comedy Ireland
- Sky News Arabia (unencrypted)
- Sky Sports Box Office
- Sky Sports Cricket
- Sky Sports Football UK
- Sky Sports Golf Ireland
- Sky Sports Golf UK
- Sky Sports Main Event Ireland
- Sky Sports News Ireland
- Sky Sports News UK
- Sky Witness UK +1hr
Tp24 12.168 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Cartoon Network UK HD
- ITV Central West (unencrypted)
- Sky Cinema Family HD
- Sky Cinema Premiere HD
- Sky Cinema Select HD
- Sky Cinema Thriller HD
- STV North HD
- STV Tayside HD
Tp25 12.188 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- LFC TV HD
- Premier Sports 1 HD
- Premier Sports 2 HD
- Sky Arts HD
- Sky Atlantic UK HD
- Sky One UK HD
- Sky Sports Racing HD
- Sky Witness UK HD
Tp26 12.207 GHz V 27500 5/6 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- E! Ireland
- Fox UK
- Sky Comedy UK
- Sky Documentaries
- Sky Nature
- Sky News Ireland (unencrypted)
- Sky One UK [also +1hr]
- Sky Sports Arena
- Sky Sports F1
- Sky Sports Football Ireland
- Sky Sports Main Event UK
- Sky Sports Mix
- Sky Sports NFL
- Sky Sports Premier League UK
- Sky Witness Ireland
- Virgin Media One
- Virgin Media Three
Tp27 12.226 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Crime + Investigation UK HD
- National Geographic Wild UK HD
- SET Asia HD
- Sky Cinema Action HD
- Sky History HD
- RTÉ One HD
- RTÉ 2 HD
- Utsav Plus HD
Tp28 12.246 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Sky UHD 3
Tp29 12.266 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Discovery Channel UK HD
- Film 4 UK HD
- More 4 UK HD
- MUTV HD
- Prime Video HD
- Sky Cinema Hits HD
- Sky Sports Main Event in Pubs HD
- Sky Sports News in Pubs HD
- Sky Sports Premier League UK HD
Tp30 12.285 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Boomerang UK HD
- CNBC UK HD (unencrypted)
- Sky Cinema Comedy HD
- Sky Cinema Drama HD
- Sky Cinema Greats HD
- Sky Cinema Sci-fi Horror HD
- W UK HD
Tp32 12.324 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in Videoguard):
- Alibi UK HD
- Gold UK HD
- ITV London HD (unencrypted)
- ITV Meridian East HD (unencrypted)
- Nickelodeon UK HD
- STV East HD
Tp35 12.382 GHz H 27500 5/6:
- Animal Planet UK (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Discovery Channel UK (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Discovery History (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Discovery Science UK (encrypted in Videoguard)
- Discovery Turbo UK (encrypted in Videoguard)
- DMAX UK [also +1hr]
- Food Network UK [also +1hr]
- Food Network Ireland
- Quest Ireland
- Quest UK [also +1hr]
- Quest Red [also +1hr]
See also
- 2012 in spaceflight
- SES satellite operator
- Astra satellite family
- Astra 28.2°E orbital position
- Astra 2E co-located satellite
- Astra 2G co-located satellite
References
- ^ a b c d e "ASTRA 2F Satellite details 2012-051A NORAD 38778". N2YO. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "SES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ASTRA 2F SATELLITE" (Press release). SES. October 1, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ Bains, Geoff. "The Good Die Young" What Satellite & Digital TV Summer 2012 pp29
- ^ "ASTRA 2E successfully launched" (Press release). SES. September 30, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "SES Orders Four New Satellites From ASTRIUM" (Press release). SES. 30 November 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "Astra 2G Satellite Roars Into Orbit" (Press release). SES. November 28, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
- ^ "SES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ASTRA 2F SATELLITE" (Press release). SES. October 1, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ Astra 2F Testing Reception Reports, Satellites.co.uk, retrieved December 27, 2012
- ^ "SES' ASTRA 2F SATELLITE STARTS OPERATIONS" (Press release). SES. November 21, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
- ^ ASTRA 2F arrives at the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou August 23, 2012 SES blog. Accessed August 26, 2012
- ^ Bains, Geoff. "Flight of the Big Birds" What Satellite & Digital TV February 2012 pp29
- ^ Astra 2F footprints & coverages on satelaunch.net Accessed August 29, 2012
- ^ Bains, Geoff. "The Astra 2F Bonus" What Satellite & Digital TV June 2012 pp29
- ^ "Astra 2F at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
External links
- SES guide to receiving Astra satellites
- SES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites
- OnAstra - Official consumers/viewers' site
- SES - Official trade/industry site