 | Issue: | Latin America I 1997 |
| Article no.: | 6 | |
| Topic: | Nahuel in the Sky | |
| Author: | Dr Eckart Schober | |
| Title: | Executive Vice President | |
| Organisation: | NAHUELSAT S.A., Argentina | |
| PDF size: | 28KB |
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Article abstract
The successful launch of the ARIANE 4 provides Argentina with its own satellite. Nahuel 1A has the potential to serve the CONOSUR/MERCOSUR region and all of Latin America.
Full Article
On January 30th, ’97 at 7.04 p. m. Kourou time (equal to Buenos Aires time) the mighty ARIANE 4 took off with two satellites on board, the GE 2 satellite of the North American operator GE-Americom, and the NAHUEL 1A satellite of the Argentine operator NAHUELSAT Sociedad Anonima. Never before had an Ariane 4 launch vehicle carried such a heavy payload: 4.9 tons at lift-off! But all the operations were accomplished successfully: 22 minutes after launch, the GE-2 satellite separated from the upper position of the dual-launch device SPELDA; 2 minutes later it was followed by the first satellite of the definitive system being installed by NAHUELSAT to serve Argentina, the CONOSUR/MERCOSUR region, and all Latin America. Injection was perfect, allowing for some months of additional life – and, having subsequently passed all the additional thrust and mechanical operations, moved to its final orbital position at 71.8 West it is operating perfectly. All tests were positive, and performance data exceeded the predicted values by large margins. All traffic has now been passed to the new satellite from the previously-used “interim satellites”, which are nearing the end of their orbital lives; and more customers are to move step by step to this high performing communication relay up in the skies. This Ku-Band satellite with 18 transponders is working perfectly at full power, and is serving all the territories of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile within one single footprint. A second beam and footprint is dedicated exclusively to Brazil: up to 8 transponders for high performing VSAT-networks, TV distribution and DTH-television. There is no discrimination against any area in the countries: all remote locations will be able to receive the signals and the channels without exemption. The satellite can also be used for educational and social purposes. From a farmer in Patagonia to a fisherman in the Amazonas region, the satellite gets everyone connected to the world of communications. Conclusion A third NAHUEL coverage area interconnects all Spanish speaking countries throughout Latin America, up to southern US and including the Caribbean rim. With NAHUELSAT, Latin America has its third satellite operator functioning: after TELECOMM (Mexico) and EMBRATEL, Brasilsat (Brazil), Argentina joins the club of countries that operate a domestic system with a regional range of service.
