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Arabsat 3A (Badr 3)
Arabsat 3A [Thales Alenia Space]
Arabsat 3A (formerly Arabsat 2-BSS), an Alcatel Spacebus-3000B2 spacecraft, was launched 26 February 1999 and co-located with Arabsat 2A at 26°E. The satellite is to operate for 13 years.
About eight transponders aboard Arabsat 3A had to be switched off on 7 December 2001 after the satellite lost about half its power. This was caused by a short circuit in the solar array drive mechanism.
| Nation: | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Communication |
| Operator: | Arabsat |
| Contractors: | Aerospatiale |
| Equipment: | 20 Ku-band transponders |
| Configuration: | Spacebus-3000B2 |
| Propulsion: | S400 |
| Power: | 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries |
| Lifetime: | 13 years (design) |
| Mass: | 2708 kg |
| Orbit: | GEO |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabsat 3A (ex Arabsat 2BSS-1) → Badr 3 | 1999-009A | 26.02.1999 | Ko ELA-2 | Ariane-44L H10-3 | with Skynet 4E |
Further Arabsat missions:
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Further Badr missions:
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