NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1989-006A
INTELSAT 5A F-15 was launched on January 27, 1989 from Kourou, French Guiana. It was the last in the INTELSAT 5A series of communications satellites. Built by Ford Aerospace for INTELSAT, it provided international telecommunications service from an orbital station at 60 deg. e long. The payload housed 29 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. It could accommodate 15,000 two-way voice circuits and two TV channels simultaneously. It also provided maritime communications for ships at sea. The satellite was box-shaped, measuring 1.66 by 2.1 by 1.77 m; solar arrays spanned 15.9 m tip to tip. The arrays, supplemented by nickel hydrogen batteries during eclipse, provided 1,800 W of power at mission onset, approximately 1,280 W at the end of its seven-year design life.
Launch Date: 1989-01-27
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 2
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana
Mass: 1981 kg
Nominal Power: 1280 W
Questions and comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office