NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1999-071A
Galaxy 11 was an American geostationary communication spacecraft that was launched from Kourou by an Ariane 4 rocket. The 2,775 kg, 10.4 kW spacecraft carried 24 C-band (20 W), and 40 Ku-band (24 at 75 W, and 16 at 140 W) transponders to provide voice and video communications to North America and Brazil, after parking eventually over 91 deg-W longitude.
The 20-watt C-band transponders will be used primarily for cable television customers. The Ku-band payload offers two power levels: 140 watts for video distribution, and 75 watts for data networks and other general communications services. This gives Galaxy 11 a total payload of 64 active transponders, for much greater capacity than the largest satellites now in its fleet.
The Boeing 702 design offers satellite operators a giant in size, performance and cost efficiency. The model was introduced in October 1995, as an evolution of its popular, proven Hughes 601 and Hughes 601HP (high-power) spacecraft. The body-stabilized Boeing 702 can deliver payloads exceeding 90 active transponders, in any communications frequencies that customers request. Power levels start at 10 kilowatts and climb to 15 kilowatts in the "max power" configuration. The spacecraft is adaptable to medium and geosynchronous earth orbits.
Standard on the Boeing 702 is the advanced xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) that Hughes pioneered. XIPS is 10 times more efficient than conventional liquid bipropellant fuel systems. Four 25-cm thrusters provide economical attitude control, needing only 5 kg of fuel per year - a fraction of what bipropellant or arcjet systems consume. Customers can apply the weight savings to increase the revenue- generating payload, to prolong service life or to use to a less expensive launch vehicle, when cost is based on satellite weight.
As a new feature on the Boeing 702, angled reflector panels along both sides of the solar wings form a shallow trough and concentrate the sun's rays on the solar cells. These high-efficiency, dual-junction gallium arsenide cells supply twice the power of traditional silicon cells.
Separating the bus and payload thermal environments and substantially enlarging the heat radiators achieves a cooler, more stable thermal environment for both bus and payload. This increases unit reliability. The deployable radiators use flexible heat pipes, which increase the packageable radiator area.
Launch Date: 1999-12-22
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 4
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana
Mass: 2775 kg
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office