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WATCH
Compiled by GARRY CRATT*
Magnetic storm claims Telstar 401
A violent magnetic storm on January 11th,
believed to be caused by a coronal mass ejection
(a magnetically charged cloud of hydrogen and
helium) from the Sun on January 6th, is the most
likely cause of the failure of Telstar 401. This
was an AT&T television relay satellite located at
97° W, serving continental USA.
All control of the satellite was lost,
although the space
craft remains on
station, with no observable signal
emissions and no response to ground
control.
Telstar 401 was one of two primary
spacecraft in AT&T’s Skynet network.
The spacecraft was insured for about
US$145 million. AT&T has applied to
the FCC for permission to move Telstar
302, a 12-year old satellite used for
telephone traffic into the 97° W slot.
In 1994, solar storms caused electrical failures in two Canadian Anik
satellites, as well as Intelsat K. Two of
the three spacecraft recovered while
the third suffered a permanent power
reduction.
JCSAT 5, 150° E longitude:
Japan Satellite Systems has announced a November launch for JCSAT
5, a Hughes HS-601 that will be located
at 150° E. The satellite will be used to
carry television, voice, data and inter
net services from Japan to the Pacific.
Present information indicates that
the satellite will carry 32 K-band
transponders only. The effect (if any)
of this new satellite on the operation of
Palapa C1, located at 150.5° E, remains
to be seen.
JCSAT4, 124° E longitude:
JCSAT4 was successfully launched
by an Atlas rocket on February 17th
and will be located at 124° E. The
satellite has 12 C-band transponders,
28 K-band transponders and has a footprint covering Japan, India, Australia
and New Zealand.
Late December saw the disappearance of two Chinese analog signals on
Asiasat2, HN TV and Quandong TV.
Replacing these two services are nine
digital services, including HN TV and
GD TV, previously available as analog
services. CCTV4, RTPI, TVSN and
the Egyptian channel RTE remain in
analog format. RTE commenced transmission on Asiasat 2 in mid December.
It requires a 3m dish for good reception
along the east coast of Australia and
New Zealand.
Asia Satellite Telecommunications
has filed a claim for US$58 million
against the launch insurers of Asiasat 2
for the loss of nine K-band transponders. The loss has been attributed to
excessive vibration during a “rough
ride” on the Long March launch vehicle in November 1995.
Elsewhere, Laotian TV has appeared
on Gorizont 30 (142.5° E) at an IF of
1375MHz, LHCP and at good signal
strength across Australia. Curiously,
re-broadcasts of Australian regional
soccer matches have appeared on this
channel, bearing the Optus Vision logo,
as well as that of Laos TV channel 3.
This channel was previously located
on the old Rimsat G1 satellite at 130°
E. This brings the number of active
transponders to three, as EMTV and
Asia Music/Zee education continue
to operate on this satellite.
Optus B3, 156° E longitude:
Details of the new “Aurora” digital
satellite platform utilising the Optus
B3 satellite at 156° E were released
by Optus at the Sydney Cable Show
held in February. The platform would
seem ideal for a satellite-based pay TV
service, competing with Galaxy.
It is also probable that this platform
will be used to carry ABC and SBS
in digital format on a national beam,
giving central and western Australians
their first taste of SBS programming.
Earliest projected operational start is
given as September 1997.
For readers equipped with internet
facilities, two new sites have appeared
this month. Star TV can be found at
http://www.startv.com while Asiasat
is at http://www.asiasat.com.hk. SC
* Garry Cratt is Managing Director of AvComm Pty Ltd, suppliers of satellite TV
reception systems. Phone (02) 9949 7417.
http://www.avcomm.com.au
April 1997 53
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