ASTRA telecom satellite safely in orbit
Signal from ASTRA's latest telecom satellite was acquired late Thursday following launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The ASTRA-1KR was carried into geosynchronous orbit at 19.2 degrees east by an International Launch Systems Atlas rocket and began transmitting about an hour later to the Lockheed Martin tracking station in Australia.
"We are very proud and satisfied that the ASTRA 1KR mission has been a success," said Ferdinand Kayser, chief executive officer of Luxembourg-based SES ASTRA. "ASTRA 1KR will benefit our customers, further strengthen our unique inter-satellite back-up scheme and provide replacement capacity for our ASTRA 1B and ASTRA 1C satellites."
ASTRA-1KR is the 29th of Lockheed Martin's A2100 satellites delivered worldwide and the 13th satellite in ASTRA's fleet. It comes equipped with 32 transponders that will deliver direct-to-home broadcast to Europe.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International