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Argentina's 1st satellite reaches permanent orbit(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Buenos Aires, Oct 27 (EFE).- Arsat-1, the first made-in-Argentina telecommunications satellite, completed over the weekend the last of five apogee maneuver firings that put it into its definitive geostationary orbit, operator Arsat told Efe Monday. The 3-ton satellite, with a projected lifespan of 15 years, now orbits at an altitude of 35,736 kilometers and will support telephone, television and data transmissions in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. Arsat-1, launched Oct. 16 from French Guiana atop an Arianespace Ariane-5 rocket, is controlled from the Benavidez Ground Station in northern Buenos Aires province. Though in its permanent orbit, Arsat-1 is not yet operational, as the process of deploying solar panels and extending the antenna will take a few months, sources at Arsat said. The Argentine Geostationary Satellites Telecommunications System envisions the construction and launch of two additional satellites. EFE Ng./mcg/cav/jab/dr (c) 2014 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |