Spainsat

Spainsat is a Spanish telecommunications satellite used for military and government communications. It allows telecommunications the different missions of the Spanish Armed forces abroad by providing coverage on a wide area of the world ranging from the United States and South America to the Middle East, including Africa and Europe.^[1]

Spainsat

Mission type	Telecommunications
Operator	Hisdesat, XTAR
COSPAR ID	2006-007A
SATCAT no.	28945
Mission duration	Planned 15 years
Spacecraft properties
Bus	SSL 1300
Manufacturer	Space Systems/Loral
Launch mass	3,683 kg (8,120 lb)
Dry mass	1,467 kg (3,234 lb)
Power	5773 W
Start of mission
Launch date	11 March 2006, 22:33 GMT
Rocket	Ariane 5 ECA
Launch site	Guiana Space Centre ELA-3
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geosynchronous
Longitude	30°West
Transponders
Band	12 X band and 1 K band
Coverage area	North America, South America, Middle East, Africa, Europe, Atlantic Ocean

Overview

The satellite belongs to Hisdesat (Spanish company participated by Hispasat (43%), Ingeniería y Servicios Aeroespaciales (30%), Airbus (15%), Indra Espacio (7%) and Sener (5%)), and its initial investment was 415 million euros. It was built by Space Systems Loral in California United States, with an expected useful life of at least 15 years. Its takeoff mass was about 3,700 kilograms. It is instrumented with several transponders in the X band and one in the K military band. It is situated on a geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres of altitude, 30 degrees west, over the Atlantic Ocean.

The satellite provides coverage to humanitarian, security and intelligence missions as well as to military operations, image transfers, embassy services and Spanish governmental communications.

Launch

The satellite was launched on 11 March 2006 at 22:33 GMT from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, by an Ariane 5 ECA rocket of Arianespace.^[2]