Belintersat-1 successfully launched

Belintersat-1 telecommunications satellite has successfully launched from the LC3 launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, located in Sichuan Province.
The mission commenced at 11:57 EST (16:57 GMT) on Friday, Jan. 15, when a Long March 3B rocket ignited its four boosters and started a short vertical ascent.

Burning its core stage’s engines, the rocket began to pitch over and roll, heading southeast, shortly after liftoff. The shutdown of the boosters occurred about two minutes and 20 seconds into the flight and they were jettisoned about one minute later. Then, the vehicle continued its mission powered by the core stage alone, equipped in one four-chamber engine, until its separation about two minutes and 40 seconds after the launch.

The second stage moved the mission forward, burning its engines for approximately three minutes until the rocket’s third stage took over control of the flight. Burning liquid hydrogen and oxygen, the vehicle’s third stage, fitted with one YF-75 engine, headed towards the deployment of its payload. The Belintersat-1 satellite separated from the launch vehicle about 26 minutes after liftoff and was delivered into a geostationary orbit (GEO) at 51.5 degrees East.

The spacecraft will be operated by the Belarusian government’s company Belintersat for up to 15 years. It is expected provide a wide range of telecommunication services, including satellite TV and radio broadcasting and broadband internet access.

Belintersat-1 was built by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The car-sized satellite has dimensions of 7.9 by 6.9 by 11.8 feet (2.4 by 2.1 by 3.6 meters) and weighs about 5.2 metric tons. It is based on CASC’s DFH-4 bus consisting of a propulsion module, service modules, and solar arrays spanning 72 feet (22 meters) when fully deployed in space.

The DFH-4 platform can be used in high capacity broadcast communications satellite, new generation direct broadcasting satellite, new generation tracking and data relay satellite, and regional mobile communications satellite. It is a large telecommunications satellite platform of a new generation, keeping high capability in output power and communication capacity ranking with international advanced satellite platforms. The DFH-4 bus can be outfitted with C, Ku, Ka, and L transponders.

The satellite is equipped in 20 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders delivered by Thales Alenia Space. 34 of them are 36 MHz and 4 are 54 MHz-bandwidth to provide a full set of telecommunication services. The spacecraft has an output power of 10.15 W.

Belintersat-1 was built to provide a full range of advanced satellite services in Europe, Africa, and Asia, as well as ensure global coverage in the Eastern Hemisphere. The spacecraft is part of Belarusian National System of Satellite Communication and Broadcast – the largest project in the field of telecommunications, implemented by this country. The program was designed to provide telecommunication services for governmental and commercial clients both in Belarus and overseas.