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AsiaSat 1
AsiaSat 1 was a Hong Kong communications satellite, which was owned, and was operated, by the Hong Kong–based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company. It was originally launched in February 1984 as Westar 6, but following a booster motor failure it was retrieved and returned to Earth in November of that year by Space Shuttle mission STS-51-A. After being sold to AsiaSat and refurbished, it was relaunched in April 1990, and positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 100.5° East. It spent its operational life at 100.5° East,[1] from where it was used to provide fixed satellite services, including broadcasting, audio and data transmission, to Asia and the Pacific Ocean.[2] Westar 6As Westar 6, the satellite was built by Hughes Space and Communications. It was based on the HS-376 satellite bus. At launch it had a mass of 1,244 kg (2,743 lb),[2] and a design life of thirteen years. It carried twenty four C-band transponders.[1] After launch from the Space Shuttle as part of mission STS-41-B its PAM-D booster rocket misfired, and the satellite was stranded in a useless low orbit. It was retrieved during another Shuttle mission (STS-51-A) in November 1984, and Hughes was contracted to refurbish it. Westar 6 was eventually sold, for US$58 million, to the AsiaSat consortium and renamed AsiaSat 1.[2] Re-launchThe launch of AsiaSat 1 was contracted to the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), and used a Long March 3 launch vehicle. The launch was conducted from Xichang Launch Area 3 (LA-3) at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre at 13:30:02 UTC on 7 April 1990.[3] MissionAsiasat 1 was replaced by AsiaSat 3S in May 1999. It remains in a graveyard orbit. See also
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