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Westar

December 15, 2023

For other uses, see Westar (disambiguation).

Westar was a fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, with five of them launched and operating under the Westar name.

Background edit

Westar 1 (launched on April 13, 1974) has the distinction of being the USA's first commercially launched geosynchronous communications satellite, following North America's first geosynchronous communications satellite, Canada's Anik A1 in 1972. Westar 1 was put into orbit at 99° W in the Clarke belt (99° W now being the home of Galaxy 16).

Westar 2 was launched shortly afterward on October 10, 1974. Westar 3, the first satellite to use TDMA switched data, was launched on August 10, 1979. Westars 1, 2 and 3 were built by Hughes using the HS 333 platform of spin-scan stabilized satellites. They only had 12 transponders on board, as opposed to later C-band communications satellites having 24, and even contemporary satellites of the same era, such as RCA's Satcom 1.

 
Westar 6 retrieval by Astronaut Dale Gardner

The later Westar 4 (launched on February 26, 1982) and Westar 5 (launched on June 9, 1982) satellites, were based on the Hughes HS 376 platform, and had 24 transponders available, as opposed to the 12 on Westars 1, 2, and 3.

Westar 6, also an HS-376 based satellite, was launched from STS-41-B on February 3, 1984, to be put into service afterward, but the perigee kick motor (also known as the Payload Assist Module, or PAM) on the satellite failed during its approach to geosynchronous orbit, placing it at an improper and inoperable low Earth orbit. It was retrieved on November 16, 1984, by the STS-51-A mission of NASA's Space Shuttle, where it was brought back to earth. It was then resold to AsiaSat in Hong Kong, who refurbished it and relaunched it on April 7, 1990 as AsiaSat 1 aboard a Long March 3 rocket.[1] The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Westar 6, as well as the Palapa B2 satellite which shared the launch payload with Westar 6, was partially funded by the insurance companies led by Lloyd's of London who insured the launch of those two satellites.[2]

An on-ground spare satellite to Westar 6, Westar 6S, was in development by Western Union and Hughes when Western Union decided to divest themselves of their telecommunications-based assets starting in the early 1980s after suffering heavy financial losses. This resulted in Western Union selling the Westar satellite fleet and operations to Hughes in 1988.

Hughes then finished development of Westar 6S, and renamed it Galaxy 6. Modifications were made to it, and Galaxy 6 was launched on October 12, 1990.

Hughes later launched the Galaxy 4 satellite in 1992 and Galaxy 5 in 1993 to replace Westar 4 and 5 respectively, after the latter satellites reached the end of their useful life.

Uplink sites for Westar edit

During the life of the Westar fleet, Western Union operated these dedicated uplink sites (now defunct, unless noted) for Westar:

References edit

  1. ^ "Westar 4, 5, 6". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Seven Things You Might Not Know You Can Insure" (Web). The One Brief, Aon. February 2, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. ^ Federal Register (PDF). Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. 4 April 1977. p. 19927.
  4. ^ a b c d Paul I. Wells (1978). Current Activities on Small Earth Terminal Satellite Domestic Telecommunications. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration. pp. 80–.
  5. ^ Federal Register. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. 15 April 1971. pp. 8086–.

External links edit

  • Gunter's Space Page - information on Westars 1, 2 & 3
  • Gunter's Space Page information on 4, 5, & 6
  • Photos of the Westar Sky Valley earth station
  • Map of terrestrial microwave relay sites of Western Union, including satellite uplink sites for Westar at the time

December 15, 2023
westar, other, uses, disambiguation, fleet, geosynchronous, communications, satellites, operating, band, which, were, launched, western, union, from, 1974, 1984, there, were, seven, satellites, with, five, them, launched, operating, under, name, contents, back. For other uses see Westar disambiguation Westar was a fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984 There were seven Westar satellites in all with five of them launched and operating under the Westar name Contents 1 Background 2 Uplink sites for Westar 3 References 4 External linksBackground editWestar 1 launched on April 13 1974 has the distinction of being the USA s first commercially launched geosynchronous communications satellite following North America s first geosynchronous communications satellite Canada s Anik A1 in 1972 Westar 1 was put into orbit at 99 W in the Clarke belt 99 W now being the home of Galaxy 16 Westar 2 was launched shortly afterward on October 10 1974 Westar 3 the first satellite to use TDMA switched data was launched on August 10 1979 Westars 1 2 and 3 were built by Hughes using the HS 333 platform of spin scan stabilized satellites They only had 12 transponders on board as opposed to later C band communications satellites having 24 and even contemporary satellites of the same era such as RCA s Satcom 1 nbsp Westar 6 retrieval by Astronaut Dale GardnerThe later Westar 4 launched on February 26 1982 and Westar 5 launched on June 9 1982 satellites were based on the Hughes HS 376 platform and had 24 transponders available as opposed to the 12 on Westars 1 2 and 3 Westar 6 also an HS 376 based satellite was launched from STS 41 B on February 3 1984 to be put into service afterward but the perigee kick motor also known as the Payload Assist Module or PAM on the satellite failed during its approach to geosynchronous orbit placing it at an improper and inoperable low Earth orbit It was retrieved on November 16 1984 by the STS 51 A mission of NASA s Space Shuttle where it was brought back to earth It was then resold to AsiaSat in Hong Kong who refurbished it and relaunched it on April 7 1990 as AsiaSat 1 aboard a Long March 3 rocket 1 The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Westar 6 as well as the Palapa B2 satellite which shared the launch payload with Westar 6 was partially funded by the insurance companies led by Lloyd s of London who insured the launch of those two satellites 2 An on ground spare satellite to Westar 6 Westar 6S was in development by Western Union and Hughes when Western Union decided to divest themselves of their telecommunications based assets starting in the early 1980s after suffering heavy financial losses This resulted in Western Union selling the Westar satellite fleet and operations to Hughes in 1988 Hughes then finished development of Westar 6S and renamed it Galaxy 6 Modifications were made to it and Galaxy 6 was launched on October 12 1990 Hughes later launched the Galaxy 4 satellite in 1992 and Galaxy 5 in 1993 to replace Westar 4 and 5 respectively after the latter satellites reached the end of their useful life Uplink sites for Westar editDuring the life of the Westar fleet Western Union operated these dedicated uplink sites now defunct unless noted for Westar The Yacolt earth station at Yacolt Washington 45 51 47 N 122 23 44 W 45 86306 N 122 39556 W 45 86306 122 39556 45 8633 122 3956 now a satellite uplink site for Verizon Communications The Sky Valley earth station located near Cordelia California 38 09 39 N 122 11 18 W 38 16083 N 122 18833 W 38 16083 122 18833 3 north of San Francisco The Steele Valley earth station near Perris California 33 45 29 N 117 18 54 W 33 75806 N 117 31500 W 33 75806 117 31500 4 southeast of Los Angeles The Kipapa earth station near Waipio Acres Hawaii 21 28 13 N 157 58 21 W 21 47028 N 157 97250 W 21 47028 157 97250 5 The Cedar Hill earth station at Cedar Hill Texas near Dallas now a satellite teleport station once again as the headquarters of Westar Satellite Services 1 Archived 2008 01 03 at the Wayback Machine The Estill Fork earth station at Estill Fork Alabama 34 54 30 N 86 09 46 W 34 90833 N 86 16278 W 34 90833 86 16278 4 The Lake Geneva earth station at Lake Geneva Wisconsin 42 37 18 N 88 25 55 W 42 62167 N 88 43194 W 42 62167 88 43194 4 northwest of Chicago and the Glenwood earth station at Glenwood New Jersey 41 12 43 N 74 29 38 W 41 21194 N 74 49389 W 41 21194 74 49389 4 Glenwood was the head earth station for the Westar fleet providing TT amp C telemetry tracking amp control amp uplink services Now the uplink site for Sirius XM References edit Westar 4 5 6 space skyrocket de Retrieved 30 November 2020 Seven Things You Might Not Know You Can Insure Web The One Brief Aon February 2 2017 Retrieved October 19 2017 Federal Register PDF Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration 4 April 1977 p 19927 a b c d Paul I Wells 1978 Current Activities on Small Earth Terminal Satellite Domestic Telecommunications Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration pp 80 Federal Register Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration 15 April 1971 pp 8086 External links editDescription of the Westar satellites at Boeing Satellite System s formerly Hughes web site Gunter s Space Page information on Westars 1 2 amp 3 Gunter s Space Page information on 4 5 amp 6 Photos of the Westar Sky Valley earth station Map of terrestrial microwave relay sites of Western Union including satellite uplink sites for Westar at the time Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Westar amp oldid 1175148921, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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