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SAT Observations 97.10.03
WELCOME TO SAT-MIDEAST !
A news release from Cairo, Egypt, located at 30.3 North - 31.15 East,
sponsored by TELE-SATELLIT INTERNATIONAL, Europes Satellite Magazine.
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WHAT YOU'LL FIND HERE:
- Satellite and Transponder Observations in C- and Ku-Band,
- Commented from the Middle Eastern perspective.
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THE HEADLINES IN THIS 97.10.03 REPORT:
(to be a Hot Bird and not an InSat..., is that the question ?)
- Launch Information
- Insat 2D lost in space
- Intelsat moves on
- Hot Bird 3 start
- Bits & Pieces
LAUNCH INFORMATION, http://www.satcodx.com/launches.shtml
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After the December 16th launch of Intelsat 804 the satellite will be
placed into a geostationary slot at 64 East, instead of the announced
29.5 West!
SME predicted it to go to 27.5 West, but that location will be taken
over by the Intelsat 801, presently at 64 East, as soon as it is
released by the Intelsat 804, which itself will be tested for about five
weeks after launch at the test location at 47 East, then move to 64 East
and release the Intelsat 801.
(SME, Source Intelsat)
SME Comment: Remarkable is that the footprint of the Intelsat 801 never
really fitted the expectations and maps featured on Intelsats web site.
References:
http://www.sat-net.com/sat-mideast/news/i801.html
http://www.intelsat.int/cmc/info/8maps.htm
The first two Intersputnik or Yamal 200 satellites will be launched no
earlier than August '98.
ARIANE 502, MORE DELAYS
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The second qualification flight of the Ariane 5 should not be expected
before October 28th, it is even more likely that the launch will take
place around the middle of November, due to the priority of the active
launches of the Ariane 4 series, with an up-coming flight V102 on
November 4th.
The Sirius 2 satellite is due to arrive quite late in Kourou, on October
4th, which in itself produces a very tight integration schedule for this
double launch. The Sirius 2 is to be launched accompanied by the
Cakrawarta-1, formerly called Indostar-1. A possible delay of the launch
to November 6th is already seriously considered.
For a detailed report take a look at Martin OA Ransom's go_Ariane pages:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/2058/news_41.html
or ESA info at:
http://www.esrin.esa.it/esa/ariane/
(SME)
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Disclaimer: The following four paragraphs are solely for information
purposes and do neither represent the views of the sender of this
mailing nor anyone of its sponsors.
EGYPTIAN OPPOSITIONAL CHANNEL
------------------------------
Egyptian Moslem militant leader Ayman al-Zawahri will launch a satellite
television station with Islamic fundamentalist billionaire Ossama Ben
Laden, the Egyptian newspaper al-Usbua said recently.
Zawahri, who heads the Jihad group but lives abroad, and Ben Laden have
concluded an agreement with a Dutch company to rent a channel for five
years, the weekly newspaper said. The channel will broadcast 10 hours a
day beginning in December and will be seen in Europe and the Arab world,
the paper said.
Zawahri's close advisor Samir Gamal Eddin will be executive director of
the channel, the paper said. According to the Egyptian security
services, Zawahri moves between several European countries. Ben Laden,
who has been stripped of his Saudi citizenship, lives in the remote
mountains of Afghanistan as a guest of the extremist Moslem Taliban
militia.
He has denied involvement in anti-US bombings in Saudi Arabia but
praised the bombers, notably for the June 1996 attack that killed 19
American servicemen in the eastern city of Dhahran. In a television
interview in May, he called for a Jihad (holy war) against US soldiers
posted in the Saudi kingdom.
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INSAT 2D, 74 East, http://www.satcodx.com/insat2d.html
--------
India's most advanced geostationary communications, and weather,
satellite experienced a major power failure late Wednesday, October 1st
leaving the system shutdown indefinitely, according to the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO).
The satellite, built by the ISRO, lost earth lock, preventing it to
continue operations followed by controllers turning off the system.
The 2.000-kg (4500-pound) spacecraft is controlled by the Hassan master
control facility located about 150-km (93 miles) from Bangalore, India.
INSAT-2D was launched on June 3rd aboard a Ariane 44L booster from the
Guiana Space Center, French Guiana, South America.
(SME, source Keith Stein)
SME Comment: A delayed victim of last weeks solar anomalities ?
JUST IN...
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India partially reactivited their INSAT-2D (Indian National Satellite
System-2D) satellite today after the system experienced a major power
failure on Wednesday.
Only three of the 24 transponders aboard the INSAT-2D communications
satellite have been turned back on.
India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) is one of prime users on INSAT-2D,
they hope to be back on-line Monday, Oct 6th.
Older INSAT satellites will be used to maintain communication and
broadcast services with other customers.
PANAMSAT 4, 68.4 East, http://www.satcodx.com/pas4.html
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As announced did the transmission of the 1st Net package cease on
Panamsat 4. In the night to October 1st on all alternating channels a
message appeared, respective in English and Arabic, with following text:
Dear Subscribers:
The transmission of the 1st Net Bouquet on PAS-4 is stopped.
Our transmissions will continue on
ARABSAT 2A, 26 degrees East
Transponder No. 3 (12562 Mhz)
Transponder No. 9 (12685 Mhz)
Horizontal Polarization
For more information, please contact your dealer.
The change on the NOKIA Mediamaster 9200 S FTA, with a manual search on
Arabsat 2A transponder 3, 12.563 GHz, H, brought in less then 30 seconds
all channels back, in the same order. (Mark the difference between the
from 1stNet announced frequency and the frequency found by the
Mediamaster).
In the Multichoice Africa C-Band package on 4.113 GHz, V, transponder
14L, is channel 28, M-Net Community Service, at present time
Free-To-Air, receivable even without an inserted smartcard, same as CCTV
4 on channel 23.
To receive the FTA Rhema Channel (27) a Multichoice Africa smartcard
must be present (an inactive one will do nicely). SR 20600 and FEC 3/4.
(SME)
INTELSAT 602, 62.5 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i602.html
INTELSAT 801, 62.5 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i801.html
------------
Both these satellites are now very close to 62.5 East.
Intelsat 602 is very slowly moving from 63.0 to 62.0 East.
Intelsat 801 is very slowly moving from 62.0 to 64.0 East.
(SATCO DX)
INTELSAT 801, 62.5 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i801.html
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A weak colour bar test card did appear on 11.043 GHz, V, in SECAM.
(SATCO DX)
INTELSAT 703, 57 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i703.html
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Sky News is on 4.187 GHz, RC, (625 lines) and 4.140 GHz, RC, (525
lines), in MPEG-2, with a SR of 5632, and a FEC of 3/4, VPID: 4200,
APID: 4280.
Targetted is however the Indian subcontinent, reception will only be
possible in the Gulf States.
(SATCO DX)
TURKSAT 1 C, 42 East, http://www.satcodx.com/turk1c.html
-----------
Genc TV/Nickelodeon, 11.029 GHz, V, and Number One TV, 11.024 GHz, V,
have ceased. They have been combined in a small package on transponder
11.024 GHz V, with a SR of 10550, and a FEC of 3/4.
VPID APID Program
4021 4022 Nickelodeon
4025 4026 Number One TV
4028 4029 Genc TV
(SME)
TURKSAT 1 B, 31 East, http://www.satcodx.com/turk1b.html
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BTV appeared on 10.979 GHz, V, with a SR of 4556, and a FEC of 5/6.
Super Kanal appeared at 11.013 GHz, V, with a SR of 4179, and a FEC of
3/4.
(SME)
ARABSAT 2B, 31 East, http://www.satcodx.com/arab2b.html
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The TV de Mauritanie and RTM 1 domestic feeds have swapped their
frequencies:
3.876 GHz, RC: RTM 1, SECAM
3.918 GHz, RC: TV de Mauritanie, PAL
(SATCO DX)
ARABSAT 2A, 26 East, http://www.satcodx.com/arab2a.html
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In the 1stNet package Tunesien channel TV7 has replaced Future
International. The channel name used in the package is RTT - Radio
Television Tunesienne.
It seems that the MPEG-2 Free-To-Air transmissions are identical to the
ones seen on Eutelsat II-f3, 16 East, transponder 39, 11.658 GHz, V.
(SME)
HOT BIRD 3, 13E, http://www.satcodx.com/hb3.html
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Hungarian channel MTV2 started punctual, on September 30th, 12:00 CAT
and stayed for a short while on air, using transponder 71, 12.130 GHz,
H.
The first channel appearing on this satellite returned in the afternoon
a few times with test carriers and at 23:45 CAT came back to stay. Audio
is available in mono on the 6.60 MHz subcarrier; the announced stereo
carriers on 7.02/7.20 MHz are there, but still empty, as well as the
7.38 and 7.56 Mhz frequencies.
A Hungarian teletext service "KEPUJSAG" was available from start.
(SME)
On Friday October 3rd the first digital data stream could be received
from transponder 85, 12.399 GHz, H, with a SR of 27500 and a FEC figure
of 3/4.
This Swiss package contains five TV channels: SF-DRS, TSR, TSI, SF 2,
TSR 2, and two radio channels: SRI_italiano and SRI_francais.
I could not detect if the broadcast was using a strong superbeam or a
weaker widebeam transponder. A signal of around 85 percent of the signal
strenght of MTV 2 could be received.
Strangely enough during this test transmission the frequency
automatically stored in the NOKIA Mediamaster was 11.740 GHz, H; a
frequency in fact used by EDTV Dubai. No video or audio could yet be
captured by me.
(SME)
HOT BIRD 2, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/hb2.html
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Arab News Network on transponder 52, 11.766 GHz, V, added last Sunday
its newly designed on-screen logo, in the lower right corner, of most
transmissions.
(SME)
RAI Sat 2 has started as part of the RAI bouquet on transponder 54,
11.804 GHz, V, in MPEG-2, Free-To-Air, VPID 4205, APID 428F.
The educational channel called RAI Sat 3 will follow on October 13th and
finally on October 27th we will see the launch of RAI Sat 1, the arts
and cultural service.
(SME)
Multichoice Hellas on transponder 55, 11.823 Ghz, H, has a home page at
http://www.multichoice.gr/
(SATCO DX)
Polonia 1 on transponder 63, 11.977 GHz, H, was last Wednesday morning
without sound on it's main audio subcarrier 6.60 MHz. The Reteotto
subcarriers were later also without audio for a brief period of time.
(SME)
HOT BIRD 1, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/hb1.html
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Discovery daughter channel Animal Planet will move on October 15th to
11.304 GHz, H. It will be part of the MCM digital bouquet.
(C.Lyngemark, source: on-screen message)
Last Wednesday, the complete MCM-package on 11.304 GHz, H, was
broadcasted in MPEG-2 Free-To-Air for unknown reasons.
(SME)
A Sisal TV test card appeared on 11.371 GHz, H, MPEG-2, Free-To-Air, SR
4000, FEC 3/4, VPID: 4488, APID: 4460.
(SATCO DX)
SME Comment: Personally I could get hold of the carrier but not of any
video or audio. The signal seems too weak. Btw: it overwrites the
bitstream data of CNBC at Intelsat 703, 57 East.
EUTELSAT II-f1, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/e2f1.html
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Transponder 21L, 11.055 GHz, H, is shared these days by Animal Planet
and Fashion TV.
From October 15th Animal Planet will be integrated in the MCM Bouquet on
Hot Bird 1, on 11.304 GHz, V, and Fashion will be transmitting analogue,
24-hours a day, on the 21L transponder, for a limited period of time.
The transponder is leased from March 30th 1998 by a yet unnamed NEW
German broadcaster.
(SME, source Eutelsat)
AMOS 1, 4 West, http://www.satcodx.com/amos1.html
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Sunday, September 28th, transponder 6L at 11.640 GHz, V, was activated
to transmit a feed of a Jewish religious meeting. Audio was on the
standard frequency of this satellite on 6.60 MHz.
(SME)
Arabic radio Reshet Daled is on the IBA transponder 1U of Channel 3,
11.012 GHz, V, using an audio subcarrier on 7.20 MHz.
(SATCO DX)
INTELSAT 601, 27.5 West, http://www.satcodx.com/i601.html
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Intelsat 803 will replace Intelsat 601 on 7 October, 02:00 CAT, in less
than two weeks after the 100st Ariane launch.
If there was a prize for the fastest installation of a satellite in
orbit, it should go to those dedicated engineers, who accomplished the
task with this inmense speed. Everybody was already astounished by the
extreme works of the set-up engineering crew of Hot Bird 2, but this 803
positioning deserves an acclamation.
(SME)
All channels on Intelsat 601 will be turned off on 7 October, 01:50 CAT.
The satellite will thereafter be put in motion to the 34.5 West position
in order to release the Intelsat 603, which will go to the 24.5 West
slot.
CFI Afrique will move on the Intelsat 803 from 3.910 GHz, RC to the NEW
frequency of 3.886 GHz, RC. On-screen announcements can be seen during
news presentations.
Cofrac has started on an audio subcarrier at 7.75 MHz on the present
CFI transponder.
(SATCO DX)
Indepth background information can be obtained from the INTELSAT
web-site:
http://www.intelsat.int/cmc/press/97-40.htm
SAT-MidEast INTERN, http://www.sat-net.com/sat-mideast/
------------------
The complete updated graphic with the latest data on transponder
numbering, bandwidths, and middle frequencies of all present Eutelsat
satellites on 13 East and the up-coming Hot Birds 4 & 5 on the same
position is available on:
http://www.sat-net.com/sat-mideast/images/hbgraph.gif
The HTML versions of these reports are readable from the NEWS pages !
All German citizens a great Unification Day !
That's all folks, and remember: in three month exactly it is RAMADAN !
Henk C. Room / SAT-MidEast / Cairo - Egypt
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