UHF 8

USA

Spacecraft n°:

USA satellite n°:

Also called USA 138

Launch data:

Designation	25258 / 98016A
Launch date	16 Mar 1998
Launch site	CC, LC-36A
Launch vehicle	Atlas-2 (AC-132 #115)
Mission	Military: telecommunications
Geostationary orbit:
Location	169°E (till Mar 1999 when the orbit was classified)

First UHF satellite with the GBS (Global Broadcast System) payload. It replaces the current SHF capability with four 130 W, 24 MHz military Ka band transponders, 3 steerable downlink spot beam antennas and one steerable uplink (+ 1 fixed) receive antenna per satellite. This will provide 96 Mbps throughput. The GBS payload is provided by Hughes Information Systems (HIS, Reston, Virginia)

Location

Begin	End	Position
L: 16 Mar 1998	Apr 1998	172°W
Jun 1998	Jan 1999	169°E
		orbit classified (161°W?)

S-band telemetry.

Ref: #15 - update: 27.10.04