DirecTV satellite fleet
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| Parts of this article (those related to section Satellites and their orbits) need to be updated. (March 2009) |
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The DirecTV satellite fleet uses seventeen satellites for the DirecTV satellite broadcast service and HughesNet (formerly known as DirectWAY and DirectPC) internet service. Currently eleven are operational with two future ones announced. [citation needed]
Satellites and their orbits
| This article needs to be updated. (March 2009) |
| This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2009) |
| This section may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources. (April 2009) |
Defunct satellites are highlighted in gold. Future satellites are highlighted in light blue.
| Satellite | Orbital slot | Launch date* | Launch vehicle | Satellite type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DirecTV-1 | 109.8°W | December 17, 1993 | Ariane 4 | Hughes Electronics HS-601 |
| DirecTV-2[A] | 100.8°W | August 3, 1994 | Atlas-Centaur 2A | Hughes Electronics HS-601 |
| DirecTV-3[B] | 91.1°W | June 10, 1995 | Ariane 42-P | Hughes Electronics HS-601 |
| DirecTV-6[C] | 109.5°W | March 9, 1997 | Atlas-Centaur 2AS | Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 |
| DirecTV-1R | 72.5°W | October 10, 1999 | Zenit-3SL | Hughes Electronics HS-601HP |
| DirecTV-4S | 101.2° W | November 27, 2001 | Ariane 4 | Hughes Electronics HS-601HP |
| DirecTV-5 | 109.8° W | May 7, 2002 | Proton SL 12 | Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 |
| Galaxy 3C[D] | 95°W | June 15, 2002 | Zenit-3SL | Boeing BSS-702 |
| DirecTV-7S | 119.0°W | May 4, 2004 | Zenit-3SL | Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 |
| DirecTV-8 | 100.8°W | May 22, 2005 | ILS Proton M | Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 |
| SPACEWAY-1 | 102.8°W | April 26, 2005 | Zenit-3SL | Boeing BSS-702 |
| SPACEWAY-2 | 99.2°W | November 16, 2005 | Ariane 5 ECA | Boeing BSS-702 |
| DirecTV-9S | 101.1°W | October 13, 2006 | Ariane 5 ECA | Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 |
| DirecTV-10 | 102.8°W | July 7, 2007 | ILS Proton Breeze M | Boeing BSS-702 |
| SPACEWAY-3 | 95.0°W | August 14, 2007 | Ariane 5 ECA | Boeing BSS-702 |
| DirecTV-11 | 99.2°W | March 19, 2008 | Zenit-3SL | Boeing BSS-702 |
| DirecTV-12 | Unknown | September 2009 [citation needed] | Proton | Boeing BSS-702 |
| DirecTV-13 | 110°W | Plans currently on hold [citation needed] | Unknown | Boeing BSS-702 |
Source: DirecTV.com and Lyngsat.com
*Default sort column
- A DirecTV-2 having reached the end of its useful life span, on April 16, 2007, the FCC granted DirecTV's request to conduct operations to deorbit the satellite, it was subsequently removed from service in May 2007.
- B DirecTV-3 was removed from service in Oct 2002 and sent to a storage orbit as a on-orbit backup. It returned to service in 2003 having been leased to Telesat, which used the satellite as backup for its troubled Nimiq-2 at 82 degrees West under the designation Nimiq-2i. In 2004 the satellite was moved to back up Nimiq-1 and is now operated under the name Nimiq-3.
- C DirecTV-6 went out of service August 15, 2006 and sent to a graveyard orbit having suffered damage from a solar flare in April 1997 as well as other solar array and power fluctuation problems.[1]
- D Galaxy 3C is operated by Intelsat. DirecTV leases non-DBS FSS transponders for international programming under the auspices of the DirecTV World Direct package.
Details of satellite fleet
Galaxy 3C
Galaxy 3C is a geostationary communications satellite located at 95° W. It was launched on June 15, 2002, with a Sea Launch vehicle, and is currently active on the C and Ku-bands, with 24 transponders for each. Owned by Intelsat, some of the satellite's users include DirecTV's Brazil and Latin America systems, the Racetrack TV Network DBS service, and HughesNet.
Rite-Aid, TJ Maxx, and Chevron use Galaxy 3C as a VSAT platform.
SPACEWAY
The SPACEWAY system was originally envisioned as a global Ka band communications system by Hughes Electronics.[2][3] When the project to build the system was taken over by Hughes Network Systems headquartered in Germantown Maryland, USA[13], a subsidiary of Hughes Electronics, it was transformed into a phased deployment initially only launching a North American satellite system. This is in comparison to other more ambitious systems such as Teledesic [14] and Astrolink[4] which retained their full global nature and which subsequently failed to complete their systems. Hughes Network Systems working with Hughes Electronics subsidiary Hughes Space and Communications (and subsequently sold to Boeing and called Boeing Satellite Systems and later the Boeing Satellite Development Center)[5] completed and built the North American SPACEWAY system[6] meant to provide broadband capabilities of up to 512 kbit/s, 2 Mbit/s, and 16 Mbit/s uplink data communication rates[7] with fixed Ka-band satellite terminal antennas sized as small as 74 cm [15]. The broadband SPACEWAY system was standardized by Telecommunications Industry Association[8] and European Telecommunications Standards Institute as the Regenerative Satellite Mesh - A Air Interface.[9]
After News Corp purchased a controlling interest in Hughes Electronics (which was renamed to DirecTV Group), the company sold off its controlling interest in Hughes Network Systems but retained SPACEWAY-1 and SPACEWAY-2 for use in the DirecTV satellite television subsidiary of Hughes Electronics.[10] Boeing retrofitted the first two satellites for bent-pipe Ka-band communications for use in high definition television and disabled the regenerative on-board processing of the original system that was to be used for broadband satellite communications.[11]
Despite statements to the contrary in the system's initial filings with the Federal Communications Commission, none of the three satellites have Inter-Satellite Links connecting the satellites directly with each other in space.[12]
SPACEWAY-1, SPACEWAY-2 and SPACEWAY-3 have been launched and Hughes Network Systems has an option to purchase and have Boeing build SPACEWAY-4.[13]
Future satellites
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| This article needs to be updated. (March 2009) |
DirecTV plans to launch DirecTV-12 in September 2009. [citation needed] It is a Boeing BSS-702. After it is fully installed, DirecTV will have the ability for 200 national HD channels. [citation needed] Specific information about which new HD channels subscribers will see, and exactly when they will be added, is unknown.
For unknown reasons, DirecTV has delayed the launch of DirecTV-13 until an unknown date. [citation needed]
See also
- List of DirecTV channels
- DIRECWAY
- HughesNet
- List of broadcast satellites
- Regenerative Satellite Mesh - A Air Interface
- Satellite television
- SPACEWAY
External links
- Lyngsat page. Accessed February 19, 2006
- Corporate site Accessed February 19, 2006
- C-band North America Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
- Ku-band North America Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
- Ku-band North America & Puerto Rico Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
- What is Spaceway?
- Boeing's Original Spaceway Specification and Picture
- Arianespace Spaceway 2 Launch Info
- Spaceway 2 Launch Press Release
- "SPACEWAY Technical Specifications". Hughes Network Systems.