Astra 2F
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| Names | Eutelsat 28F |
|---|---|
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| Mission type | Communications |
| Operator | SES S.A. |
| COSPAR ID | 2012-051A |
| SATCAT no. | 38778 |
| Website | https://www.ses.com/ |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned) Template:Time interval (elapsed) |
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| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Eurostar |
| Bus | Eurostar-3000 |
| Manufacturer | Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) |
| Launch mass | Template:Cvt |
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| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 September 2012, 21:18:07 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 5ECA (VA209) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Entered service | 21 November 2012 |
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| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | 28.2° East |
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| Transponders | |
| Band | 63 transponders: 60 Ku-band 3 Ka-band |
| Coverage area | Europe |
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Astra 2F is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES S.A., launched in September 2012 to the Astra 28.2°E orbital position.[2] The satellite provides free-to-air and encrypted direct-to-home (DTH) digital television and satellite broadband services for Europe and Africa.
Astra 2F is the first of three "second generation" satellites for the 28.2° East position which replace the first generation Astra 2A, Astra 2B and Astra 2D satellites previously positioned there.[3][4] The second, Astra 2E, was launched in 2013 and the third, Astra 2G, was launched in 2014.[5][6] Some parts of the construction of Astra 2F by Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) in Stevenage, United Kingdom could be seen in the BBC2 documentary programme, How To Build... A Satellite broadcast on 27 November 2011.
Astra 2F was successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana on 28 September 2012, at 21:18:07 UTC by an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle from Centre Spatial Guyanais.[7] and underwent in-orbit testing at 43.5° East.[8] Commercial operations at 28.2° East began on 21 November 2012.[9]
Market
The Astra 28.2° East orbital position was established in 1998 to provide digital television, digital radio and multimedia services to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Astra 2F's primary mission is to continue this provision as replacement and follow-on capacity to the Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Astra 2D and Astra 1N satellites, delivering programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000 Internet Protocol television (IPTV) homes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major UK digital satellite television satellite bus, BSkyB and Freesat.[10]
In addition, Astra 2F serves the growing direct-to-home (DTH) platforms in West Africa such as Multi TV of Ghana.
Astra 2F is also designed to provide SES Broadband’s first commercial Ka-band satellite broadband service in Europe, with a Ka-band payload delivering high-speed Internet access (at download speeds up to 20 Mbit/s) along with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) from November 2012.
Broadcasting footprint
Astra 2F has three Ku-band downlink beams covering Europe and Africa. The Europe Beam is centred on the English Channel with maximum signal (for reception on a 40 cm dish) over the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Benelux, and parts of Germany, Austria, and Spain (including a "lobe" specifically designed to serve the Canary Islands which officially requires a 120 cm dish but in practise is easily receivable using a 90 cm dish as with Astra 2E), and reception on a 1 m dish extending to North Africa, Poland and the Balkans.
The UK Beam provides maximum signal (40 cm dishes) over the United Kingdom, Ireland, Benelux and Northern France in close approximation of the UK Beam of Astra 2D, which it replaces.[11] Due to the tight footprint, some reception issues for UK channels are being reported in Spain as of December 2012. Early reports of test transmissions on 11.023 GHz H 23000 DVB-S2 suggest the beam is very tight with a very sharp fall off to the west and east of the footprint, but eastern Spain seems to be getting a higher signal strength possibly due to the off-axis beam as 28.2° East on the geostationary arc is not directly in line with the United Kingdom but offset to the east.[12]
The West Africa beam provides for reception with 60 cm dishes across southern West Africa from Senegal to Nigeria, with a lower signal level (80 cm dishes) extending across the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[13]
The Ka-band footprint for satellite broadband provides full service coverage across western Europe from the United Kingdom and France in the west to the Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the east.[14]
Active transponders
Below is a list of the TV channels broadcast to Europe from active transponders on Astra 2F as of April 2025[update]:[15][16] Template:Smalldiv
See also
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- 2012 in spaceflight
- SES satellite operator
- Astra satellite family
- Astra 28.2°E orbital position
- Astra 2E co-located satellite
- Astra 2G co-located satellite
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ASTRA 2F". N2YO.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ASTRA 2F SATELLITE" (Press release). SES. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SES Orders Four New Satellites From ASTRIUM" (Press release). SES. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
- ^ Bains, Geoff "The Good Die Young" What Satellite & Digital TV Summer 2012 pp.29
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ASTRA 2E successfully launched" (Press release). SES. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Astra 2G Satellite Roars Into Orbit" (Press release). SES. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SES SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES ASTRA 2F SATELLITE" (Press release). SES. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Astra 2F Testing Reception Reports". Satellites.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."SES' ASTRA 2F SATELLITE STARTS OPERATIONS" (Press release). SES. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ ASTRA 2F arrives at the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou 23 August 2012 SES blog Accessed 26 August 2012
- ^ Bains, Geoff. "Flight of the Big Birds" What Satellite & Digital TV February 2012 pp.29
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Astra 2 at 28° East, Satellite changes at 28.2° East". astra2sat.com. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Astra 2F footprints & coverages on satelaunch.net Accessed 29 August 2012
- ^ Bains, Geoff "The Astra 2F Bonus" What Satellite & Digital TV June 2012 pp.29
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Astra 2F at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sky UK on Astra 2E/2F/2G at 28.5°E". LyngSat. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
External links
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