AsiaSat 4

AsiaSat 4 [Boeing BSS]

Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Ltd. (AsiaSat) ordered its AsiaSat 4 satellite from Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), Inc., in September 2000. The satellite is a Boeing BSS-601HP or "high power" version of the body-stabilized spacecraft. AsiaSat 4 is designed to provide broadcast, telecommunications and broadband multimedia services to the Asia Pacific region, and direct-to-home broadcast servic-es to Hong Kong, from its orbital position of 122É East longitude.

AsiaSat 4 launched successfully April 11, 2003 on an Atlas-3B-SEC rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The satellite will generate up to 9,600 Watts using two sun-tracking four-panel solar wings covered with triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. AsiaSat 4 will operate in C-band and Ku-band. The satellite carries 28 active transponders with six spares in C-band, powered by 55-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), and 20 active transponders with four spares in Ku-band, powered by 140-watt TWTAs.

The C-band payload is designed to offer pan-Asian coverage, similar to AsiaSat 3S, also a 601HP model. The Ku-band payload will offer high power, and spot beams for selected areas in either the Fixed Satellite Service frequency band or in the Broadcast Satellite Service frequency band.