JCSAT-3

JCSAT-3
Mission type	Communications
Operator	JSAT
COSPAR ID	1995-043A
SATCAT no.	23649
Mission duration	12 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	JCSAT-3
Spacecraft type	JCSAT
Bus	HS-601
Manufacturer	Hughes
Launch mass	3,105 kg (6,845 lb)
Dry mass	1,841 kg (4,059 lb)
Dimensions	26.2 m × 7.5 m (86 ft × 25 ft) with solar panels and antennas deployed.
Power	5 kW
Start of mission
Launch date	29 August 1995, 00:53:02 UTC
Rocket	Atlas IIAS
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, LC-36B
Contractor	International Launch Services (ILS)
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	March 2007
Last contact	March 2007
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	128° East
Transponders
Band	Ku-band:; 12 × 36 Mhz + 16 × 27 MHz; C-band:; 12 x 36 MHz
Bandwidth	1296 MHz
Coverage area	Japan
TWTA power	Ku-band: 63 watts; C-band: 34 watts
	JCSAT constellation ← JCSAT-2 JCSAT-4 →

JCSAT-3 was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Hughes (now Boeing) on the HS-601 satellite bus. It was originally ordered by JSAT Corporation, which later merged into the SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It has a mixed Ku-band and C-band payload and operated on the 128° East longitude until it was replaced by JCSAT-3A.^[2]

Satellite description

The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by Hughes on the HS-601 satellite bus. It had a launch mass of 3,105 kg (6,845 lb), a dry mass of 1,841 kg (4,059 lb) and a 12-year design life. When stowed for launch, its dimensions were 2.8 m × 4.9 m × 3.8 m (9 ft 2 in × 16 ft 1 in × 12 ft 6 in). With its solar panels fully extended it spanned 26.2 m (86 ft), and its width when its antennas were fully deployed was 7.5 m (25 ft).^[2] Its power system generated approximately 5 kW of power thanks to two wings with four solar panels each.^[2]^[3] It also had a single NiH₂ battery composed of 30 cells and a 200 Ah charge.^[2] It would serve as the main satellite on the 128° East longitude position of the JSAT fleet.^[2]

Its propulsion system was composed of an R-4D-11-300 liquid apogee engine (LAE) with a thrust of 490 N (110 lb_f). It also used had 12 22 N (4.9 lb_f) bipropellant thrusters for station keeping and attitude control. It included enough propellant for orbit circularization and 12 years of operation.^[2]

Its payload is composed of four octagonal antenna fed by twelve 36 MHz and sixteen 27 MHz Ku-band plus twelve 27 MHz C-band transponders for a total bandwidth of 1296 MHz.^[2] The Ku-band transponders have a TWTA output power of 63 watts while the twelve C-band transponders have 34 watts of power.^[2]

History

In 1993, Japan Communications Satellite Company and Satellite Japan Corporation merged to form Japan Satellite Systems Inc. (JCSAT).^[4] That same year, JCSAT ordered JCSAT-3, a third satellite from Hughes, but this time using the HS-601 platform.^[2] In 1995, JCSAT obtained a license for international service, and thus became a regional operator.^[4]

On 29 August 1995 at 00:53:02 UTC, an Atlas IIAS launching from Cape Canaveral LC-36B successfully launched JCSAT-3 into orbit. It was positioned into the 128° East orbital longitude.^[2]

On 20 April 2004, JSAT ordered a second satellite from Lockheed Martin, JCSAT-10. Based on the A2100-AX satellite bus, it would have a C-band and Ku-band payload and was expected to replace JCSAT-3 at the 128° East orbital longitude after its planned 2006 launch.^[5] On 11 August 2006, an Ariane 5 ECA launched JCSAT-10 (JCSAT-3A) along Syracuse-3B into a transfer orbit. Upon successful deployment at 128° East longitude, it was renamed JCSAT-3A.^[6] In March 2007, JCSAT-3 was retired and decommissioned.^[7]^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b "Trajectory: JCSAT 3 1995-043A". NASA. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Krebs, Gunter (21 April 2016). "JCSat 3, 4 (JCSat R) → Intelsat 26". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
^ "Hughes Built JCSAT-4 To Boost Services In Pacific Rim". warunasat.com. 14 February 1997. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b "History". SKY Perfect JSAT. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
^ "JSAT Corporation Awards Lockheed Martin Contract For Second A2100 Satellite". icaa.eu. Lockheed Martin Space Systems. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
^ Krebs, Gunter (21 April 2016). "JCSat 10, 11, 12 (JCSat 3A, RA)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
^ "Radio Regulatory Council Summary of Minutes (912th Meeting)" (PDF). Secretariat of the Radio Regulatory Council of Japan. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
^ "JCSAT 3". N2YO.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.