Panamsat 6B

Launch Success

Liftoff Time (GMT)

01:08:00

Tuesday December 22, 1998

Mission Details

Launch Notes

Flight V115.

Panamsat 6B

Wiki

In March 1998, Hughes Space and Communications Company of El Segundo, Calif., was selected by PanAmSat Corporation of Greenwich, Conn., to build PAS-6B, a Hughes HS-601HP spacecraft model to provide direct-to-home television transmissions in South America. The satellite was launched on Dec. 21, 1998. As a Hughes HS-601HP, PAS-6B carries the latest technological advancements in satellites: dual-junction gallium arsenide solar cells and a xenon ion propulsion system. The solar array on PAS-6B generates 8 kilowatts of power. The xenon ion propulsion system, "XIPS," is 10 times more efficient than the propulsion systems currently in use and enables the satellite to carry more payload. The 7-kilowatt payload consists of 32 Ku-band transponders that are powered by a combination of 105-watt and 140-watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers. Designed to provide a minimum of 15 years of service, PAS-6B is the fourth Hughes 601HP to serve PanAmSat. Intelsat changed the name of the PAS satellites to Intelsat effective to 1. February 2007. In 2003 PAS 6B lost the secondary XIPS engines in addition to the earlier loss of the primaries, which will lead to a reduced lifetime.

Geostationary Transfer Orbit

1 Payload

3,470 kilograms

Rocket

Retired
Ariane 42L

Active 1993 to 2002

European Space Agency logo

Manufacturer

ESA

Rocket

Diameter: 3.8m

Height: 58.72m

Payload to Orbit

GTO: 3,480 kg

Liftoff Thrust

4,538 Kilonewtons

Stages

3

Strap-ons

2

Launch Site

ELA-2

Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana, France

Fastest Turnaround

16 days

Stats

Ariane 4


84th

Mission

10th

Mission of 1998

European Space Agency


103rd

Mission

10th

Mission of 1998

1998


80th

Orbital launch attempt