Galaxy (satellite)
| Manufacturer | Hughes, BSS, Orbital Sciences, Space Systems/Loral, Alcatel Alenia |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Operator | Hughes Communications |
| Applications | Communications |
| Specifications | |
| Bus | HS-376, HS-601, BSS-702, STAR-2, SSL-1300 |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Production | |
| Status | In service |
| Launched | 30 |
| Operational | 14 |
| Retired | 14 |
The Galaxy series is a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by Hughes Communications. It has since merged with PanAmSat and is now owned and operated by Intelsat. As one of the earliest geostationary satellites, Galaxy 1 was launched on June 28, 1983. The latest, Galaxy 19, was launched on September 9, 2008. Subsequent satellites were renamed from satellites formerly known under the Intelsat Americas brands.
| Satellite | Manufacturer | Launch Vehicle | Launch Date | Launch Site | State | Orbital position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy 1 | Hughes | Delta (3920) | June 28, 1983 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Retired on May 1, 1994 | 141° W | |
| Galaxy 1R | Hughes | Atlas I | August 22, 1992 | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | Launch failure | — | |
| Galaxy 1R2 | Hughes | Delta II (7925-8) | February 19, 1994 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Retired on March 7, 2006 | 105° W | |
| Galaxy 2 | Hughes | Delta (3920) | September 22, 1983 | Cape Canaveral LC-17A | Retired on May 1994 | 43° W | |
| Galaxy 3 | Hughes | Delta (3920) | September 21, 1984 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Retired on October 1995 | 38° W | |
| Galaxy 3R | Hughes | Atlas IIA | December 15, 1995 | Cape Canaveral LC-36A | Failed in orbit on March 2006 | 129° W | |
| Galaxy 3C | Hughes | Zenit-3SL | June 15, 2002 | Sea Launch | Active | 95° W | |
| Galaxy 4 | Hughes | Ariane 42P+ | June 25, 1993 | Kourou ELA-2 | Failed in orbit on May 1998 | 78° E | |
| Galaxy 4R | Hughes | Ariane 42L | April 19, 2000 | Kourou ELA-2 | Retired on July 2006 | 164° E | |
| Galaxy 5 | Hughes | Atlas I | March 14, 1992 | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | Retired on January 2005 | 176° E | |
| Galaxy 6 | Hughes | Ariane 44L | October 12, 1990 | Kourou ELA-2 | Retired on February 2003 | 145° W | |
| Galaxy 7 | Hughes | Ariane 42P+ | October 28, 1992 | Kourou ELA-2 | Faiure in orbit on November 2000 | 96° W | |
| Galaxy 8i | Hughes | Atlas IIAS | December 8, 1997 | Cape Canaveral LC-36B | Retired on October 2002 | 30° E | |
| Galaxy 8iR | Hughes | Zenit-3SL | — | — | — | — | Cancelled[1] |
| Galaxy 9 | Hughes | Delta II (7925) | May 23, 1996 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Retired | 176° W | |
| Galaxy 10 | Hughes | Delta III 8930 | August 27, 1998 | Cape Canaveral LC-17B | Launch failure | — | |
| Galaxy 10R | Hughes | Ariane 42L | January 25, 2000 | Kourou ELA-2 | Retired on June 2008 | 175° W | |
| Galaxy 11 | Hughes | Ariane 44L | December 22, 1999 | Kourou ELA-2 | Active | 44° E | |
| Galaxy 12 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Ariane 5 G | April 9, 2003 | Kourou ELA-3 | Active | 129° W | With Insat-3A |
| Galaxy 13 | Hughes | Zenit-3SL | October 1, 2003 | Sea Launch | Active | 127° W | |
| Galaxy 14 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Soyuz-FG | August 13, 2005 | Baikonur 31/6 | Active | 125° W | |
| Galaxy 15 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Ariane 5 GS | October 13, 2005 | Kourou ELA-3 | Failure in orbit on April 2010, resolved in 2011, currently Active | 133° W | Launched join with Syracuse 3A |
| Galaxy 16 | Space Systems/Loral | Zenit-3SL | June 18, 2006 | Sea Launch | Active | 99° W | |
| Galaxy 17 | Alcatel Alenia Space | Ariane 5ECA | May 4, 2007 | Kourou ELA-3 | Active | 91° W | With Astra-1L |
| Galaxy 18 | Space Systems/Loral | Zenit-3SL | May 21, 2008 | Sea Launch | Active | 123° W | |
| Galaxy 19 | Space Systems/Loral | Zenit-3SL | September 24, 2008 | Sea Launch | Active | 97° W | Ex-Intelsat Americas 9 |
| Galaxy 23 | Space Systems/Loral | Zenit-3SL | August 8, 2003 | Sea Launch | Active | 121° W | Ex-Telstar 13 |
| Galaxy 25 | Space Systems/Loral | Proton-K | May 24, 1997 | Baikonur 81/23 | Active | 93° W | Ex-Telstar 5 |
| Galaxy 26 | Space Systems/Loral | Proton-K | February 15, 1999 | Baikonur 81/23 | Active | 31° W | Ex-Telstar 6 |
| Galaxy 27 | Space Systems/Loral | Ariane 4 | September 25, 1999 | Kourou ELA-2 | Active | 109° E | Ex-Telstar 7 |
| Galaxy 28 | Space Systems/Loral | Zenit-3SL | June 23, 2005 | Sea Launch | Active | 89° W | Ex-Telstar 8 |
Satellite details
Sources
References
- ^ On November 15, 2002, PanAmSat terminated its contract with Boeing Satellite Systems for the Galaxy 8iR satellite that was almost completed, claiming that Boeing did not comply with the terms of the contract, and requested US$ 72 million from Boeing to repay previous advances and other costs. The satellite was later converted to the ProtoStar 2 satellite, which was released in 2009, and was acquired that same year by SES which renamed it to SES-7.
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