Mission type Communication COSPAR ID 1985-015A Mission duration 7 years Inclination 0.2° Period 23 hours Rocket Ariane 3 | Operator Arabsat SATCAT № 15560 Manufacturer Aérospatiale Inclination 0.2° Launch date 8 February 1985 Bus Spacebus | |
Similar Arabsat‑1B, Brasilsat‑A1, INSAT‑2DT, Intasat, Bulgaria 1300 | ||
Arabsat-1A was a Saudi Arabian communications satellite which was operated by Arabsat. It was used to provide communication services to the Arab States. It was constructed by Aérospatiale, based on the Spacebus 100 satellite bus, and carries two NATO E/F-band (IEEE S band) and 25 NATO G/H-Band (IEEE C band) transponders. At launch, it had a mass of 1,170 kilograms (2,580 lb), and an expected operational lifespan of seven years.
Arabsat-1A was launched by Arianespace using an Ariane 3 rocket flying from ELA-1 at Kourou. The launch took place at 23:22:00 GMT on 8 February 1985. It was the first Spacebus satellite to be launched. Immediately after launch, one of its solar panels failed to deploy, resulting in reduced performance. It was placed into a geosynchronous orbit at a longitude of 19° East. Following a series of gyroscope malfunctions, it was retired from active service, and remained operational as a backup. In September 1991, another problem developed with the spacecraft's altitude control system, and it began to drift eastward. It failed completely in March 1992.