AMC-6, formerly GE-6, is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES Launched on 21 October 2000, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, AMC-6 became the fifth hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite in the GE Americom fleet. The satellite provides coverage to the continental United States, Canada, the Caribbean islands, southern Greenland, and Latin America. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the eastern United States coastline, AMC-6 provides service to commercial and government customers, and is used as an Internet platform due to its wide coverage, scale and redundancy. Some of its capabilities include Very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) networking, satellite news gathering and Ku-band transceiver service.[5] Launched as GE-6, it was renamed AMC-6 when SES took over GE Americom in 2001, forming SES Americom. This merged with SES New Skies in 2009 to form SES World Skies.[6]
| Names | GE-6 (1997-2001) AMC-6 (2001-present) Rainbow 2 (2004-present) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Communications[1] |
| Operator | GE Americom (2000-2001) SES Americom (2001-2009) SES World Skies (2009-2011) SES (2011-present) |
| COSPAR ID | 2000-067A |
| SATCAT no. | 26580 |
| Website | AMC-6 website |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned) 24 years, 22 days (elapsed) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | GE-6 |
| Bus | A2100AX[2] |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Launch mass | 3,909 kg (8,618 lb) [3] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 21 October 2000, 22:00:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Proton-K / DM3[3] |
| Launch site | Baikonur, Site 81/23[1][3] |
| Contractor | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[4] |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | 72° West [5] |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 52 transponders: 24 C-band 28 Ku-band |
| Frequency | 36 MHz 72 MHz (4 Ku-band) |
| Coverage area | North America, Greenland, Latin America[5] |
Rainbow 2
editRainbow Media announced in November 2004, that it will utilize 16 transponders on the AMC-6 satellite, which VOOM refers to as Rainbow 2.[3]
References
edit
- ^ a b "Display: GE 6 2000-067A". NASA. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Satellite Manufacturing Special - The time factor" (PDF). Satellite Evolution. September–October 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d Krebs, Gunter (12 April 2019). "GE 4, 6 / AMC 4, 6 / Rainbow 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "AMC-6 (GE-6)". N2YO.com. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Satellite Data". SES World Skies. Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "SES Americom-New Skies Satellite Division Re-Brands as SES World Skies". Reuters. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
External links
edit- AMC-6 website
- C-band Americas Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
- Ku-band Americas Beam footprint(s) at SatBeams
- AMC-6 information at LyngSat