Mission type Communications SATCAT no. 23175 Inclination 4.1° Period 1 day Rocket Ariane 4 | COSPAR ID 1994-040A Manufacturer Hughes Inclination 4.1° Launch date 8 July 1994 Bus Boeing 601 | |
Operator PanAmSat (1994-2006)
Intelsat (2006-2011) Mission duration 15 years design life
16.5 years achieved Similar Intelsat 8, Intelsat 603, Galaxy 27, JCSAT‑5A, TDRS‑9 | ||
Intelsat 2, formerly PAS-2, was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat which spent most of its operational life serving the Pacific Rim market from a longitude of 169° East. Launched in 1994, the satellite was operated by PanAmSat until it merged with Intelsat in 2006. The spacecraft was renamed, along with the rest of PanAmSat's fleet, in February 2007.
Intelsat 2 was constructed by the Hughes Aircraft Corporation, based on the HS-601 satellite bus. It had a mass at launch of 2,920 kilograms (6,440 lb), which decreased to around 1,727 kilograms (3,807 lb) by the time it was operational. Designed for an operational life of 15 years, the spacecraft was equipped with 20 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders. Its two solar arrays, which had a span of 26 metres (85 ft) generated 4,700 watts of power when the spacecraft first entered service, which was expected to drop to around 4300 watts by the end of the vehicle's operational life.
Arianespace launched Intelsat 2, using an Ariane 4 rocket, flight number V65, in the Ariane 44L H10+ configuration. The launch took place from ELA-2 at the Centre Spatial Guyanais at 23:05:32 UTC on 8 July 1994. The satellite was placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, from which it raised itself into geostationary orbit by means of an R-4D-11-300 apogee motor.
Intelsat 2 was removed from geostationary orbit in February 2011, being placed into graveyard orbit on 28 February. Manoeuvring into graveyard orbit did not fully deplete the satellite's propellant as had been expected, so engineering operations continued until July 2011 in order to exhaust the remaining supply. The satellite was then decommissioned and powered down.