Apr 20 2006
From The Space Library
An Atlas 5 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 4:27 p.m. (EDT), carrying the 4.3- tonne (4,300-kilogram or 4.74-ton) geostationary Astra 1KR telecommunications satellite. Lockheed Martin had designed and built the satellite for Luxembourg-based SES ASTRA. International Launch Services (ILS), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Khrunichev State Research and Production Center in Moscow, had marketed the mission. Once the satellite had achieved its final orbital slot over the equator at 19.2° east longitude, its 32 Ku-band transponders would transmit analog, radio, and digital television signals, as well as Internet and multimedia services throughout Europe.
United Press International, “ASTRA Satellite Ready for Thursday Launch,” 20 April 2006; Justin Ray, “Atlas 5 Rocket Launches TV Broadcasting Craft for Europe,” Spaceflight Now, 20 April 2006; Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 630, 1 May 2006, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx630.html (accessed 1 March 2010).
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