AsiaSat 2 → Amos 5i

AsiaSat 2 [Lockheed]

The Hong Kong-based consortium, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company, has been the most important communication company in Hong Kong. From its orbital slot above Singapore, Asiasat can service users in China, Japan, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Broadcasting the Star TV service 24 hours a day Asiasat broke through national regulatory structures for television programs. Within the footprint of the satellite, from Kabul to Hokkaido, video, audio and data signals can be exchanged with the use of three meter dishes.

The more capable Asiasat 2 was launched on 28 November 1995 by a CZ-2E Based on a Lockheed-Martin AS-7000 spacecraft bus, Asiasat 2 is a 3-axis stabilized with an initial launch mass of 3.5 metric tons and carries a payload of 24, 55-W, 6/4 GHz and 9, 115-W 14/12 GHz transponders. Asiasat 2 will be parked at 100.5 degrees E, following an agreement with Thailand to avoid radio interference. The in-orbit loss of the AT&T Telstar 402 satellite contributed to a year-long delay in the launch of the similar AsiaSat 2.

In late 2009 AsiaSat 5 was sold to israeli Spacecom Ltd. to be operated as Amos 5i to be operated ad 17 degrees E as a stop gap measure until Amos 5 becomes operational in 2011.