Astra 2E
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | SES |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-056A |
| SATCAT № | 39285 |
| Mission duration | 15 years |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Eurostar-3000 |
| Manufacturer |
Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) |
| Launch mass | 6,020 kilograms (13,270 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 29 September 2013, 21:38 UTC |
| Rocket | Proton-M/Briz-M |
| Launch site | Baikonur 200/39 |
| Contractor | ILS |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 43.5°E (2013, testing) 28.2°E (2014-) |
| Slot | Astra 28.2°E |
| Semi-major axis | 42,163.88 kilometres (26,199.42 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.0001878 |
| Perigee | 35,784 kilometres (22,235 mi) |
| Apogee | 35,800 kilometres (22,200 mi) |
| Inclination | 0.05 degrees |
| Period | 1436.10 minutes |
| Epoch | 25 January 2015, 05:01:56 UTC |
Astra 2E is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched to the Astra 28.5°E orbital slot on September 30, 2013 after a 10-week delay caused by rocket launcher problems. The satellite provides free-to-air and encrypted direct-to-home (DTH) digital TV and satellite broadband services for Europe and the Middle East.
After launch, Astra 2E underwent in-orbit testing at 43.5°E and began commercial operations at 28.2°E in February 2014. At that time, channels broadcast via Astra 1N (temporarily located at 28.2°E pending Astra 1E's launch) were transferred to Astra 2E and Astra 1N relocated to its design position at 19.2°E.
Astra 2E is the second of three 'second generation' satellites for the 28.2°E position to replace the first generation Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Astra 2C and Astra 2D craft originally positioned there between 1998 and 2001. The first, Astra 2F, was launched in 2012 and the third, Astra 2G, was launched in 2014 (launched on December 27, 2014).
Unlike other SES/Astra spacecraft, the launch order of Astra 2E and Astra 2F is not reflected in their alphabetical names, with Astra 2F launched 10 months before Astra 2E.
The Astra 28.2°E position was established in 1998 to provide digital TV, digital radio and multimedia services to the UK and Republic of Ireland, and Astra 2E’s primary mission is to continue this provision as replacement and follow-on capacity to the Astra 2A, Astra 2D and Astra 1N satellites. Along with Astra 2F it delivers programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000 IPTV homes in the UK and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major UK digital satellite TV platforms, BSkyB and Freesat.
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