Thor (satellite)
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2020) |
Thor (previously known as Marcopolo) is a family of
Although the satellites performed as designed, BSB
Marcopolo 1 (Sirius 1/Sirius W)
Marcopolo 2 (Thor 1)
Marcopolo 2 was launched on 18 August 1990. It had 5 Ku band transponders. It was sold in July 1992 to
Thor 2
Thor 2 was launched on 21 May 1997, and retired in 2008 although it remained in an inclined geostationary orbit until January 2013 when it de-orbited to the graveyard orbit.[5] It weighs 1467 kg, and has 15 Ku band transponders, with 3 spares, powered by 40-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs).
Thor 3
Thor 3 (the "3" is officially "III") was a
Intelsat 10-02 (Thor 10-02)
Intelsat 10-02 was launched on 16 June 2004, located at 1°W, and was beamed toward Central Europe and the Middle East.[7]
Thor 5
Thor 5 was launched on 11 February 2008. It was first planned that the satellite would be called Thor 2R', but Telenor named it Thor 5. It has 24 active Ku band transponders.
Thor 6
Thor 6 was launched from the Guiana Spaceport on 29 October 2009.[8] Telenor Satellite Broadcasting announced on 15 December that Thor 6 had completed all necessary in-orbit and ground-related testing and would commence commercial service in late December.
Thor 6 has 36 Ku band transponders. It provides direct-to-home television broadcasting services from the orbital location 0.8°W. It replaced Thor 3.[9]
Thor 7
Thor 7 has been built by SSL. It was successfully launched by Arianespace from Kourou spaceport on 26 April 2015. It will mainly serve maritime customers and have a total capacity of 9 Gbit/s. It was launched in tandem with the Italian/French Sicral 2 defense satellite.
References
- ^ BSB History by Boeing Archived 20 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Boeing Launch Services Mission Record". Boeing.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter D. "Marco Polo 1, 2 (BSB 1, 2) / Sirius 1 / Thor 1"". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "TSE - BSB 1". www.tbs-satellite.com.
- ^ Clover, Julian (14 January 2013). "Thor II de-orbited after 15 years". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ Krebs, Gunter D. "Thor 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ Ray, Justin (17 June 2004). "Powerful broadcasting satellite goes into orbit". Spaceflight Now.
- ^ "Mission accomplished! Arianespace orbits NSS-12 and THOR 6 34th successful Ariane 5 launch in a row". Arianespace Group. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Thor 6 (Intelsat 1W, IS-1W)". Satbeams.com. Retrieved 16 January 2023.