Mission type Communications COSPAR ID 2014-046A Mission duration 15 years Launch date 5 August 2014 Inclination 0.04° Launch mass 4,535 kg | Operator AsiaSat SATCAT no. 40107 Manufacturer Space Systems/Loral Inclination 0.04° Period 24 hours Bus SSL 1300 | |
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Similar AsiaSat 6, Thaicom 6, Ratsat, ABS‑3A, SpaceX COTS De | ||
Asiasat 8 falcon 9 satellite launch webcast
AsiaSat 8 is a Hong Kong geostationary communications satellite which is operated by the Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company.
Contents
Satellite
AsiaSat 8 was built by Space Systems/Loral, and is based on the LS-1300LL satellite bus. The satellite carries 24 Ku band transponders and a Ka band payload, and was planned to be initially positioned above the equator, at a longitude of 105.5 degrees East, providing coverage of southern and south-eastern Asia, China and the Middle East.
Launch vehicle
SpaceX was contracted to launch AsiaSat 8, using a Falcon 9 v1.1 carrier rocket. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 5 August 2014 at 08:00 UTC.
The Falcon 9 upper stage used to launch AsiaSat 8 is derelict in a decaying elliptical low-Earth orbit that, as of 13 August 2014, had an initial perigee of 195 km (121 mi) and an initial apogee of 35,673 km (22,166 mi). One month on, the orbit had decayed to an altitude of 185 km (115 mi) at its closest approach to Earth, and by November had decayed to a 169 km (105 mi) perigee.