# DirecTV 9S Ready for Launch on Ocotober 12th



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061006/sc_afp/spaceeuropeariane_061006095630



> PARIS (AFP) - A European Ariane-5 heavy rocket will make a rare triple launch of three satellites next Thursday, launch operator Arianespace has said.
> 
> ADVERTISEMENT
> 
> ...


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Payloads for the United States, Australia and Japan

For its fourth launch of the year Arianespace will boost three satellites into orbit: DIRECTV 9S for American operator DIRECTV, Inc., OPTUS D1 for the Australian operator OPTUS, and the experimental satellite LDREX-2 for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Launch window:

GMT: Between 8:56 pm and 9:56 pm on October 12.
PARIS: Between 10:56 pm and 11:56 pm on October 12.
WASHINGTON: Between 4:56 pm and 5:56 pm on October 12.
KOUROU: Between 5:56 pm and 6:56 pm on October 12.
TOKYO: Between 5:56 am and 6:56 am on October 13.
SYDNEY: Between 6:56 am and 7:56 am on October 13.

Follow the launch live on the internet: http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en
(Starting 15 minutes before lift-off).

Video streaming will be available in RealMedia and WindowsMedia formats.

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## tzphotos.com (Jul 12, 2006)

Does anyone know if we can see this on TV? Maybe even in HD


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

The last few have been on Channel 598. Sorry SD only..


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## Radio Enginerd (Oct 5, 2006)

Anyone have any information on what the intension of the new bird is?

I'm guessing HD but more specifically, can we expect to see an increased HD channel lineup on this new bird?


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## chrisfowler99 (Aug 23, 2006)

Is this an early launch of one of the two 2007 satellites or something else?


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## Greg Bimson (May 5, 2003)

DirecTV 9S is almost exactly like the DirecTV 7S spot-beam satellite: it can operate spot-beam transponders at 101 like DirecTV 4S in a 54-transponder, 27-beam mode, or like DirecTV 7S at 119, with a 44-transponder, 30-beam mode. Technically, DirecTV 9S is supposed to be an in-orbit spare.

However, DirecTV 9S also has a Ka-band payload, which DirecTV is terming as used for backhauling local channels in digital/HD. I think the Ka-band on either this satellite or DirecTV 8 will end up being used for more HD, as this is the same band for the Spaceway satellites.


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

chrisfowler99 said:


> Is this an early launch of one of the two 2007 satellites or something else?


something else


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## cybrsurfer (Sep 17, 2006)

Greg Bimson said:


> DirecTV 9S is almost exactly like the DirecTV 7S spot-beam satellite: it can operate spot-beam transponders at 101 like DirecTV 4S in a 54-transponder, 27-beam mode, or like DirecTV 7S at 119, with a 44-transponder, 30-beam mode. Technically, DirecTV 9S is supposed to be an in-orbit spare.
> 
> However, DirecTV 9S also has a Ka-band payload, which DirecTV is terming as used for backhauling local channels in digital/HD. I think the Ka-band on either this satellite or DirecTV 8 will end up being used for more HD, as this is the same band for the Spaceway satellites.


Apparently 9S is replacing the satellite at the 101 degree slot, because it's about 15 years old. This is according to lyngsat.com.


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

cybrsurfer said:


> Apparently 9S is replacing the satellite at the 101 degree slot, because it's about 15 years old. This is according to lyngsat.com.


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The sat. can be moved to either 101 or 119 if needed.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

moonman said:


> ----------
> The sat. can be moved to either 101 or 119 if needed.


That makes you wonder if they will temporarily use it for more HD channels until the other 2 sats get up next year?


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## Greg Bimson (May 5, 2003)

Lyngsat would be wrong this time.

DirecTV 9S is a spot-beam satellite with a few CONUS transponders. If it were to replace another satellite, it would be the DirecTV 4S satellite that is almost five years old.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Greg Bimson said:


> However, DirecTV 9S also has a Ka-band payload, which DirecTV is terming as used for backhauling local channels in digital/HD. I think the Ka-band on either this satellite or DirecTV 8 will end up being used for more HD, as this is the same band for the Spaceway satellites.


From what I've seen D9S is supposed to go to 101. If I'm not mistaken, I thought I saw postings that say the LNB assembly on the AT-9 can only do Ka band from 99 and 103. So has anyone heard if D9S or D8 would go to 99 or 103 or can the AT-9 receive Ka band from more then 99 and 103?


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Quote from the FCC document concerning D* waiver request for dual KA/KU bird..
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A.	DIRECTV’s DBS System at the Nominal 101º W.L. Orbital Location
1. DIRECTV currently operates a system of DBS satellites at the 101º W.L., 110º W.L., 119º W.L., and 72.5º W.L. nominal orbital locations. DIRECTV explains that the DBS space station on the DIRECTV 9S satellite will add to its capacity at the nominal 101º W.L. orbital location and is intended to replace the DIRECTV 1 satellite’s capacity at this location. The DBS space station of the DIRECTV 9S satellite will be collocated at the nominal 101º W.L. orbital location with the DIRECTV 1R, DIRECTV 4S, and DIRECTV 8 satellites, where it will continue to provide national and local-into-local programming to DIRECTV subscribers, and will also provide redundancy for DIRECTV’s existing DBS satellites. We conclude that granting DIRECTV’s application for the DBS space station on the proposed DIRECTV 9S satellite is in the public interest because it will result in increased efficiency and capacity for DIRECTV’s DBS satellite system which will allow DIRECTV to improve its service offerings to consumers.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

OK, so all we need to know now is if the AT-9 LNB can receive the Ka band at 101 to have any chance of more HD. Anyone know if it's supported or not???


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Launch delayed 24 hours.
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Liftoff Ariane 5 ECA - DIRECTV 9S - OPTUS D1: Launch delayed by 24 hours.

In order to carry out additional checks on components of the launcher, Arianespace has decided to postpone the launch Ariane 5 ECA - DIRECTV 9S - OPTUS D1 by 24 hours.

The launch is now slated for the night of Friday, October 13, 2006, at the opening of the following launch window:

GMT: Between 8:56 pm and 9:56 pm on October 13.
PARIS: Between 10:56 pm and 11:56 pm on October 13.
WASHINGTON: Between 4:56 pm and 5:56 pm on October 13.
KOUROU: Between 5:56 pm and 6:56 pm on October 13.
TOKYO: Between 5:56 am and 6:56 am on October 14.
SYDNEY: Between 6:56 am and 7:56 am on October 14.

Follow the launch live on the internet: http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=en
(Starting 15 minutes before lift-off).
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SAT. HAS 52 KU band & 2 KA band transponders @ 101 slot..CONUS, Alaska & Hawaii.
http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/kit/DIRECTV_OPTUS_LDREX_GB.pdf


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

moonman said:


> The launch is now slated for the night of Friday, October 13, 2006


Why am I hearing that Creedence Clearwater Revival song in my head right now?

_"I see a bad moon rising,
I see trouble on the way..."_


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

RAD said:


> OK, so all we need to know now is if the AT-9 LNB can receive the Ka band at 101 to have any chance of more HD. Anyone know if it's supported or not???


No, it can only receive Ka band at 99 and 103.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

bobnielsen said:


> No, it can only receive Ka band at 99 and 103.


Thanks, that's what I thought I saw.


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

Has the launch been delayed. The countdown clock says 7 hrs....


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

MikeR7 said:


> Has the launch been delayed. The countdown clock says 7 hrs....


If you click on the webcast link...

It still says the webcast will start at 20:41 GMT

I think they have a "programming" bug on the main page
Which means they are running late.


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Do you mean the Webcast countdown clock??? Mine is still counting down...is now 
@ 6 hours+change, but remember this is Paris time...our time is still 4:56-5:56 DST
http://www.videocorner.tv/index.php?langue=fr
You may need to refresh your browser...I figure we still have about 1 hour+or-


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

Mine says 7 HR 20 min right now


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

If you click the link at the top that is kind of flashing you get a screen that says the live broad cast starts in 15 min.


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

There is a picture of the control room up now


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

back to a graphic


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

Is this going to be on D*???


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Not sure...but ch 574 says private broadcast rite now maybe???


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

The show has started


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

moonman said:


> Not sure...but ch 574 says private broadcast rite now maybe???


Drop your mouse..it's on D* now.


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

574 is up and running 11 minutes till launch


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Anyone got video on the webcast?

Sadly... I am not home to watch it....
Now I know why I need a slingbox


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Anyone got video on the webcast?
> 
> Sadly... I am not home to watch it....
> Now I know why I need a slingbox


Got it... Had to use RealPlayer outside of IE (click on the RealPlayer "graphic on the website",and select to view inside of RealPlayer


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

That guy was wearing a Directv golf shirt


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

She was pretty cute!


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

launch!!!


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

get up there little satellite! we need as many sats as we can get


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

little off track but everything looks right on time right now....edit now its right on track.


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

Was that Rupert?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

That was the first time I have watched a non-manned rocket lauch.

That little boy got a move-on


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

all in all pretty cool


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

Earl Bonovich said:


> That was the first time I have watched a non-manned rocket lauch.
> 
> That little boy got a move-on


they said the max speed will be 9 kilometers a sec.
by the way we got wind gusts up to 45 m.p.h here and my worries about the at9 have dropped down about two nothces!


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## Tonedeaf (Jun 13, 2006)

Was cool to see that. First time I actually caught the launch live. 

That Frenchie dude is so hard to understand. I thought he said that the altitude would hit 600km, is that right?


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## stuart628 (Jul 8, 2004)

Tonedeaf said:


> Was cool to see that. First time I actually caught the launch live.
> 
> That Frenchie dude is so hard to understand. I thought he said that the altitude would hit 600km, is that right?


yes that is correct, we are at 207 at the time of this writing with a speed of 8.40 km/s


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Overall that was pretty cool....

Now the SAT just has to "float" over to it's final spot... Stretch out it's arms...


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://www.amtdrt.inlumen.com/bin/story?StoryId=Crs8pqbKbmJG2yJu4nd
DIRECTV 9S Satellite Launches Successfully; Expands DIRECTV Fleet to Nine Spacecraft


> Satellite to Provide Back-Up and Ensure Continued Quality and Availability of Services
> 
> EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct 13, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DIRECTV continued to fortify its satellite fleet with the successful launch today of DIRECTV 9S, a high-powered, spot-beam satellite that will provide back-up capacity and ensure continuous, reliable service for DIRECTV customers. The spacecraft was successfully launched today at 1:56 p.m. PT from Europe's Spaceport in Kouou, French Guiana.


More...


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Damm you are quick Richard.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

While DirecTV 9s is a spare, there has been speculation that DirecTV could use 9s to add additional SD local markets, and/or to transition locals off of 72.5 to 101 due to more efficient spot beam usage, etc...

I thought it was interesting that they mentioned the capacity for 100 market's locals on 9s... and it got me to thinking about the amount of locals DirecTV has on 101... so I counted, and DirecTV has 46 markets on 101... and 29 on 72.5... meaning that DirecTV could THEORETICALLY add at least 25 more SD LIL markets if they wanted to.

Again, this is all speculation, but I thought I would mention it...

~Alan


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

It can also be used to get the signal from the Affiliates/Networks/Channel, to the DirecTV centers... I believe it is called BackHauling.


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## jwjensen356 (Apr 11, 2006)

It got off nicely on time. DirecTV 9 and an Optus satellite for Australia. At Space Systems/Loral, where I work, we got a nice DTV-9 souvenir mug (even though I subscribe to E*) ;-)

John


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> While DirecTV 9s is a spare, there has been speculation that DirecTV could use 9s to add additional SD local markets, and/or to transition locals off of 72.5 to 101 due to more efficient spot beam usage, etc...
> 
> I thought it was interesting that they mentioned the capacity for 100 market's locals on 9s... and it got me to thinking about the amount of locals DirecTV has on 101... so I counted, and DirecTV has 46 markets on 101... and 29 on 72.5... meaning that DirecTV could THEORETICALLY add at least 25 more SD LIL markets if they wanted to.
> 
> ...


Or if they could shift some of the locals from 119 maybe they could add a few more nationwide HD channels.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

bobnielsen said:


> Or if they could shift some of the locals from 119 maybe they could add a few more nationwide HD channels.


It's possible that they could do this temporarily, but I don't see much point in it due to the end of Sunday Ticket coming up in a few months... not to mention that it won't be TOO long after that until DirecTV sends up the next KA satellite... and moving the locals over to 101 even temporarily might lead to some confusion.

~Alan


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## employee3 (Aug 15, 2006)

The funniest part of the broadcast was when they were talking about the "experimental" 3rd sat. There was a French woman speaking and then a Japanese guy speaking. They were speaking English, but I'll be damned if you could understand one word.

The second was when the DirecTv guy was speaking after the launch and forgot his last French line.

Gotta love international launches


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

employee3 said:


> The funniest part of the broadcast was when they were talking about the "experimental" 3rd sat. There was a French woman speaking and then a Japanese guy speaking. They were speaking English, but I'll be damned if you could understand one word.
> 
> The second was when the DirecTv guy was speaking after the launch and forgot his last French line.
> 
> Gotta love international launches


I guess that I have been working with too many people from different countries... I really had no issues understanding ANY of the people during the broadcast, Frech, Africa, Japanese..... And only know English as a language.

I was extremely impressed with the quality of that broadcast
(Oh and the rocket going up was pretty cool too)


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## cbeckner80 (Apr 19, 2006)

So, I'm sure I don't understand anything at all about these things, but why couldn't they use this satellite temporarily to squelch some of the *****ing about not enough national HD feeds? :shrug:


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## w6fxj (Aug 10, 2005)

cbeckner80 said:


> So, I'm sure I don't understand anything at all about these things, but why couldn't they use this satellite temporarily to squelch some of the *****ing about not enough national HD feeds? :shrug:


Because there are NO Ku-band frequencies to use. All are being used now. They might be able to add spot beam transponders, but not for national-wide use. Maybe they can convert the NYC and LA HD MPEG2 locals to spot beam, but that would make a lot of people mad who now get them outside of LA and NYC.


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## Greg Bimson (May 5, 2003)

cbeckner80 said:


> So, I'm sure I don't understand anything at all about these things, but why couldn't they use this satellite temporarily to squelch some of the *****ing about not enough national HD feeds?


To expand on w6fxj's point...

Say me and my wife own seven cars. Between the two of us, no matter how we slice it, we can only drive two cars (one for each of us).

DirecTV is licensed for 32 Ku-band transponders at the 101 satellite slot. Even if DirecTV put up 9,486 transponders at the 101 slot, DirecTV could still only use 32 transponders, because that is what the FCC has licensed to DirecTV.

So, adding more satellite capacity does not allow for additional bandwidth if there are limits to the licenses.


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