COSPAR ID 2000-002A Launch mass 3,475 kg Manufacturer Hughes Aircraft Company | Operator PanAmSatIntelsat Launch site Kourou ELA-2 Launch mass 3,475 kg Launch date 25 January 2000 Bus Boeing 601 | |
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Mission duration Planned: 15 yearsAchieved: 8 years Similar Galaxy 27, Intelsat 603, Anik F1, Galaxy 15 | ||
Galaxy 10R was an American communications satellite which was operated by PanAmSat, and later Intelsat. It was constructed by Hughes and is based on the HS-601HP satellite bus. Launch occurred on 25 January 2000, at 01:04. The launch was contracted by Arianespace, and used an Ariane 4 42L-3 carrier rocket flying from ELA-2 at the Guiana Space Centre.
Galaxy 10R was built to replace the Galaxy 10 satellite, which had been lost in a launch failure on the maiden flight of the Delta III in 1998. It was launched just fourteen months after the contract to build the satellite had been signed, due to Hughes' advance production of components to allow quick production of replacement satellites.
Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in geostationary orbit at 123° West, from where it provided communications services to North America. It was expected to remain in service for fifteen years, however following a malfunction of its Xenon Ion Propulsion System in August 2004, this was reduced. It was retired to a graveyard orbit in June 2008.