NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1990-001B
JCSAT 2, a Japanese communications satellite, was launched by the US using the Titan 3 launch vehicle along with the UK's Skynet 4A satellite. It was the second in a two-satellite series of privately owned high-power Japanese communications satellites. A solid-fuel kick motor boosted the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. After 4 weeks of tests, the satellite was delivered to its owner/operator, Japan Communications Satellite Company (JCSAT) in February 1990. JCSAT is jointly owned by Hughes Communications, Inc, C. Itoh & Co, and Mitsui and Co, Ltd. The satellite provided telephone, TV, facsimile and data services to Japanese businesses. High quality video and message data were received on user antennas as small as 1.2 m. The Ku-band communications payload provided 32 channels, each able to handle one TV broadcast, 250 telephone circuits or 45 million bits of data per second. It measured 3.7 m by 10 m fully extended and with its 2.3 m antenna deployed. Body mounted solar cells provided 2200 W of power over its 10-yeart design life. Stationed above 154 deg e, it joined JCSAT 1, launched in March 1989.
Launch Date: 1990-01-01
Launch Vehicle: Titan III
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral, United States
Mass: 1364 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office