Orbital Galaxy 15 - Manual (Page 2)

Orbital Sciences Corporation
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Galaxy 12, 14 and 15
Mission Partners
PanAmSat
PanAmSat, a premier global provider of satellite-
based communications services, merged with
Intelsat in July 2006
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Prime contractor for three PanAmSat C-band Galaxy
satellites
Arianespace
Launch provider
Specifications
Spacecraft
Launch Mass: Galaxy 12 and 14: 1,730 kg (3,814 lb.)
Galaxy 15: 1,892 kg (4,171 lb.)
Solar Arrays: Two panels per array, multi-junction Gallium Arsenide cells
Stabilization: 3-axis stabilized; zero momentum system
Propulsion: Liquid bi-propellant transfer orbit system; Monopropellant
(hydrazine) on-orbit system
Mission Life: 15 years (fueled for over 15 years)
Orbit: Galaxy 12 and 14: 125 ° West Longitude
Galaxy 15: 133 ° West Longitude
Payload
C-band
Repeater:
Two groups of 16-for-12 linearized TWTAs
Antenna: 2.0 m dual grid reflector with corrugated feed horn assembly
Launch
Launch Vehicle: Galaxy 12: Ariane 5
Galaxy 14: Soyuz
Galaxy 15: Ariane 5
Site: Galaxy 12: Kourou, French Guiana
Galaxy 14: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Galaxy 15: Kourou, French Guiana
Date: Galaxy 12: April 9, 2003
Galaxy 14: August 14, 2005
Galaxy 15: October 13, 2005
Galaxy 15
Galaxy 14
Galaxy 15 Hybrid Commercial/Government Payload Satellite
The Galaxy 15 satellite, which features a unique hybrid payload configuration, was
launched on October 13, 2005. In addition to C-band commercial communications,
the spacecraft also broadcasts Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation data using
L-band frequencies as part of the Geostationary Communications and Control Segment
(GCCS) implemented by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA).
GCCS is a GPS-based navigation and landing system for aviation use to provide
precision guidance to aircraft at thousands of airports and airstrips where there is
currently no precision landing capability. Orbital engineered the payload and integrated it
onto the existing Galaxy 15 satellite.