Thuraya 1 [Boeing BSS]
Thuraya-1 is the first satellite in the Boeing GEM (Geomobile) series. This product line expands Boeing's offerings beyond satellite manufacturing, to integrate a high-power geosynchronous satellite (derived from the Boeing BSS_702 body-stabilized design) with a ground segment and user handsets, to provide a range of cellular-like voice and data services over a large geographic region. The Thuraya ground segment includes terrestrial gateways plus a collocated network operations center and satellite control facility in the UAE.
Thuraya offers GSM-compatible mobile telephone services, transmitting and receiving calls through a single 12.25-meter-aperture reflector. The satellite employs state-of-the-art on-board digital signal processing to create more than 200 spot beams that can be redirected on-orbit, allowing the Thuraya system to adapt to business demands in real time. Calls are routed directly from one handheld unit to another, or to a terrestrial network. The system has the capacity for 13,750 simultaneous voice circuits.
Thuraya 1 suffers from a generic failure of the early BSS-702 / GEM model: the fogging of the concentrator mirrors on the solar arrays leads to reduced available power.
Nation: | United Arab Emirates |
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Type / Application: | Communication |
Operator: | Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. |
Contractors: | Hughes |
Equipment: | L-band 128 active elements, 17 W SSPAs C-band 2 active (2 spare) |
Configuration: | HS-GEM (Geomobile) |
Propulsion: | R-4D |
Power: | 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries |
Lifetime: | 12 years |
Mass: | 5108 kg |
Orbit: | GEO |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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Thuraya 1 | 2000-066A | 21.10.2000 | SL | Zenit-3SL (1) |