# Quetzsat-1 News Update



## Aransay (Jun 19, 2006)

Status: planned 
Position: 77° W (73° W) 
Norad: 
Cospar number: 
Operator: QuetzSat S. de R.L. de C.V. 
Launch date: 4-Jun-11 
Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome 
Launch vehicle: Proton M 
Launch mass (kg): 
Dry mass (kg): 
Manufacturer: Space Systems Loral (SSL) 
Model (bus): LS-1300 
Orbit: GEO 
Expected lifetime: 15 yrs.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Que?


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Aransay said:


> QuetzSat-1
> 
> Procured by SES, QuetzSat-1 is a high-power communications satellite with coverage of Mexico, North America, and Central America, which is fully contracted to a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation and will be used in part by Dish Mexico, an EchoStar joint venture, for Direct-To-Home (DTH) services in Mexico. The Ku-band satellite is scheduled for launch in 2011 and is designed to provide service for 15 years or more. Based on the flight-proven SS/L 1300 satellite platform, which provides flexibility for a broad range of applications, the satellite will be located at 77 degrees West.


http://www.ssloral.com/html/satexp/quetzsat1.html


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Aransay said:


> Launch date: 4-Jun-11


Apparently from http://www.satbeams.com/satellites?id=2430 which has had that date for several months.

The more recent date seen was November.


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## shion (Oct 8, 2010)

Original article
Mientras el sector de telecomunicaciones mexicano vive tiempos tormentosos, en una fábrica de Palo Alto, California, se dan los últimos ajustes al satélite QuetzSat 1, cuyo lanzamiento está estimado para este verano desde el cosmódromo de Baikonur en Kazajistán y que servirá para robustecer la flota de tres satélites que operan para el servicio de televisión satelital Dish, lo que significará más dolores de cabeza para Sky, que hoy depende de un sólo satélite de la empresa Intelsat.

http://blogs.cnnexpansion.com/informacion-privilegiada/?p=2391

Google traslated
While the Mexican telecommunications sector lives stormy times, at a factory in Palo Alto, California, will give the final adjustments to the satellite QuetzSat 1, which is estimated for release this summer from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and will serve to strengthen fleet of three satellites that operate to the Dish satellite television service, which will mean more headaches for Sky, which now depends on a single satellite company Intelsat.

I've found many different launch dates

Q3 2001 (july-september)
http://www.ses.com/ses/siteSections/services/satellitefleet/upcoming-launches/index.php

July 30 2011
http://www.zarya.info/Calendar.php

November
http://www.satelliteonthenet.co.uk/index.php/launch-schedule


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## satlaunch (Oct 8, 2010)

Hi,

We are also listing next GEO satellite launches in our blog. Please take a look.

satlaunch.blogspot.com

Best regards


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

any update/clarification on Quetzsat 1's launch date?


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

I hate to bump the thread, but does anyone have a reliable launch date update?


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## spear61 (Sep 19, 2004)

"tkrandall" said:


> I hate to bump the thread, but does anyone have a reliable launch date update?


Excelsior had interview in March where MVS said Sept. Reuters had interview in April where MVS said Aug. MVS is the Dish Mexico content provider.


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## satlaunch (Oct 8, 2010)

Launch is planned in mid-August.

source: _satlaunch.blogspot.com/2011/06/quetzsat-1-launch.html_


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

satlaunch said:


> Launch is planned in mid-August.
> 
> source: _satlaunch.blogspot.com/2011/06/quetzsat-1-launch.html_


Any source OTHER than yourself?


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## spear61 (Sep 19, 2004)

August 18 from reliable source.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=1133.1410


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## shion (Oct 8, 2010)

New tentative date: september 28th

Seems it will have no spotbeams, but two beams covering from United States to Panama, anyone knows or got theories as to why?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

shion said:


> New tentative date: september 28th
> 
> Seems it will have no spotbeams, but two beams covering from United States to Panama, anyone knows or got theories as to why?


Non spot beam satellites are cheaper. Perhaps DISH decided to invest their money in the next satellite for 61.5 and keep 77 cheap. Once the next new spotbeam satellite gets to 61.5, 77 markets could be moved over freeing up space for Mexican services.

The Canadian restrictions on the 77 slot restrict it's use. They could have done southern US spots (and that is what I expected). But they can do that at 61.5 as well, from existing uplink centers (likely with no new dishes as would be required for 77 spotbeams).

The pattern is a surprise after all of our speculation ... but it is understandable.


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## levibluewa (Aug 13, 2005)

Is there a new "footprint" map for the new sat?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I have not drawn one for my page yet but SatBeams has them up:
http://satbeams.com/satellites?id=2430 for the satellite. Footprint links to the right.


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

shion said:


> New tentative date: september 28th


Based on what source?



> Seems it will have no spotbeams, but two beams covering from United States to Panama, anyone knows or got theories as to why?


What info are you basing this assertion on? Everything we have read to date would suggest the bird will go to 77W, and the majority (~two thirds?) of the transponders will be used by DISH for the primary, if not sole, purpose of local channels in the U.S. market. Such a purpose demands spot beams.


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## spear61 (Sep 19, 2004)

tkrandall said:


> Based on what source?
> 
> What info are you basing this assertion on? Everything we have read to date would suggest the bird will go to 77W, and the majority (~two thirds?) of the transponders will be used by DISH for the primary, if not sole, purpose of local channels in the U.S. market. Such a purpose demands spot beams.


http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=905013


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

spear61 said:


> http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=905013


That document indicates an August launch is planned and October start of commercial services.

Indeed I see no mention of spot beams in that document. If there are no spots for the 24 transponders available to Dish for USA service then I question if its primary purpose will be for locals.


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## shion (Oct 8, 2010)

Besides that document, regular updates are published in this forum, which it's been said to be accurate (based on the experience of already performed launches). Apparently Quetzsat-1 was originally planned to be launched around august 18, but then delayed to september 28.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

tkrandall said:


> That document indicates an August launch is planned and October start of commercial services.
> 
> Indeed I see no mention of spot beams in that document. If there are no spots for the 24 transponders available to Dish for USA service then I question if its primary purpose will be for locals.


Locals are working fine on 77 today ... why would they magically not work on a new non-spotbeam satellite?

There is enough room on 72.7 for all the national channels (or at least there will be when DirecTV finishes vacating 72.5 at the end of the year - three more transponders at the end of September and the remaining four at the end of December per DirecTV's website). DISH doesn't need 77 for national channels ... it makes a nice orbital for locals without the high price of a spotbeam satellite.


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

James Long said:


> Locals are working fine on 77 today ... why would they magically not work on a new non-spotbeam satellite?


They are "working fine" at 77W, but as I understand it Dish's flexibility and channel capacity is very limited at 77 because the current sats at that location are not using spot beams nor were they designed to provide broad coverage from 77W without interfering with Canadian DBS slots. My understanding was Dish was going to use 77W for locals channels and employ spot beams at 77W to accomplish the launch of many more Eastern Arc markets.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

tkrandall said:


> My understanding was Dish was going to use 77W for locals channels and employ spot beams at 77W to accomplish the launch of many more Eastern Arc markets.


I thought they would to, but apparently DISH has other plans (E16 at 61.5).


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

*ILS Launch Website for Quetzsat-1*

http://www.ilslaunch.com/mission-control/mission-quetzsat-1


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

James Long said:


> *ILS Launch Website for Quetzsat-1*
> 
> http://www.ilslaunch.com/mission-control/mission-quetzsat-1


Launch Date: 
September, 2011


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## spear61 (Sep 19, 2004)

Indefinite delay for all International Launch Service (ILS) launches during incident review.

Brize M stopped communicating between 4th and 5th burns and failed to separate on the Express AM4 launch.


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## tkrandall (Oct 3, 2003)

sounds like we are set for a possibly long delay.....

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/08/23/russia-grounds-launches-after-losing-costly-satellite/

_MOSCOW - Russia suspended launches of its chief Proton-M rocket on Tuesday over the multimillion-dollar loss of a communications satellite, the latest in a string of embarrassing setbacks that have dogged the industry.

Russia's space agency said the failure of the rocket's upper stage, responsible for boosting satellites into final orbit, was the most likely cause for last week's botched launch, it said in a statement.

Roskosmos said its experts were still trying to link back up with the US$265-million Express AM4 satellite, billed by its maker EADS as the most powerful ever built in Europe, after it disappeared from monitors shortly after launch last Thursday......._


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Yeah, that type of review could take months ...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

It gets worse ...
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/08/24/russia.rocket/index.html

(CNN) -- A Russian space freighter carrying cargo to the International Space Station has crashed in a remote area of Siberia, Russian emergency officials said Wednesday.

The unmanned Progress cargo craft, which launched at 7 p.m. in Kazakhstan (9 a.m. ET) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, was due to dock with the ISS on Friday.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Bad luck time at Baikonur...


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## spear61 (Sep 19, 2004)

Human error. Failure to provide time for gyroscope to stabilize and it took off in the wrong direction

Pending launches have been released for rescheduling

See ILS website for details

Anik has updated quetzsat launch to Nov 14


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## rocatman (Nov 28, 2003)

QuetzSat-1 launch date updated to September 30th. There is another Proton launch scheduled for September 14th so it won't be the first one after the failure.


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

The launch happened on 9/29. Is anyone tracking its progress?


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## Voyager6 (Apr 17, 2006)

BobaBird said:


> The launch happened on 9/29. Is anyone tracking its progress?


So far, so good.  http://www.ssloral.com/html/pressreleases/pr20110930.html



> SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL BUILT QUETZSAT-1 SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMS POST-LAUNCH MANEUVERS
> 
> Palo Alto, Calif. - September 30, 2011 - Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the world's leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the QuetzSat-1 satellite, procured by SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite deployed its solar arrays early this morning, following yesterday's successful launch from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS). Tomorrow, it will begin the first of several thruster firings to maneuver into geosynchronous orbit.


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