Ekspress-AM-6 [ISS Reshetnev]
The Ekspress-AM 6 is a communications satellites for Russian domestic communication services.
The lifetime of the spacecraft has been increased to 15 years. While the spacecraft itself is built by Russian RSCC (Kosmicheskiya Svyaz), the communication payloads are built by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA). It consists of 14 C-band, 44 Ku-band, 12 Ka-band and 2 L-band transponders.
Five transponders are leased to Eutelsat and are marketed under the name Eutelsat 53A since May 2015.
The satellite was launched on a Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) rocket from Baikonur. The Briz-M upper stage shut down too early in the 4th burn and left the satellite in a lower than planned orbit (31307 km × 37784 km, 0.7°). The satellite reached the operational geostationary orbit by using its own propulsion.
In March 2020 the five-year-old satellite's Ka-band payload was shut off due to a thermal control system malfunction with the spacecraft.
Nation: | Russia |
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Type / Application: | Communication |
Operator: | RSCC (Kosmicheskiya Svyaz) |
Contractors: | ISS Reshetnev (ex NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki, NPO PM) (Bus), MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) (Payload) |
Equipment: | 14 C-band, 44 Ku-band, 12 Ka-band, 2 L-band transponders |
Configuration: | Ekspress-2000 |
Propulsion: | ? × SPT-100 Stationary Plasma Thrusters |
Power: | 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries |
Lifetime: | 15 years |
Mass: | 3358 kg |
Orbit: | GEO |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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Ekspress-AM 6 (Eutelsat 53A) | 2014-064A | 21.10.2014 | Ba LC-81/24 | P | Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) |