Nimiq-2

Nimiq 1 and 2, high-power Ku/Ka-band satellites, feature 32 active 24 MHz Ku-band transponders with 120 Watt power amplifiers, and Nimiq 2 also has a Ka-band payload that will provide broadband services. Nimiq 1 and 2 are A2100AX satellites, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, with a minimum service life of 12 years. The satellite's name – chosen from 36,000 submissions in a national contest in 1998 – is an Inuit word for any object or force that unites things or binds them together. Nimiq 2 experienced a malfunction that affected the available power on the spacecraft on 20 February 2003. The satellite is currently generating sufficient power to operate only 26 of the 32 transponders.