Engineering:Ekspress-AM4R

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Short description: Russian communications satellite
Ekspress-AM4R
NamesЭкспресс-АМ4Р
Express-AM4R
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorRussian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC)
Websitehttps://eng.rscc.ru/
Mission duration15 years (planned)
Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftEkspress-AM4R
Spacecraft typeEurostar
BusEurostar-3000
ManufacturerEADS Astrium
Launch mass5,775 kg (12,732 lb) [1]
Dry mass1,465 kg (3,230 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date15 May 2014, 21:42:00 UTC[2]
RocketProton-M / Briz-M
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 200/39
ContractorKhrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Entered serviceFailed to orbit
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit (planned)
RegimeGeosynchronous orbit
Longitude80° East
Transponders
Band63 transponders:
30 C-band
28 Ku-band
2 Ka-band
3 L-band
Coverage areaRussia
Ekspress constellation
← Ekspress-AT2
Ekspress-AM6 →
 

Ekspress-AM4R (Russian: Экспресс-АМ4Р meaning Express-AM4R) [3] was a Russian communications satellite intended for operation by the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC). Constructed as a replacement for Ekspress-AM4, which was left unusable after the upper stage of the launch vehicle carrying it malfunctioned, Ekspress-AM4R was also lost due to a launch failure.[4]

Satellite description

Astrium, which had become part of Airbus Defence and Space by the time of the satellite's launch, constructed Ekspress-AM4R, which was based on the Eurostar-3000 satellite bus.[5] It was identical in design to Ekspress-AM4, with a mass of 5,775 kg (12,732 lb) and a planned operational lifespan of fifteen years. The satellite carried sixty-three transponders: thirty operating in the C-band of the electromagnetic spectrum, twenty eight in the Ku-band, two in the Ka-band and three in the L-band. It was to have been the largest and most powerful satellite in the Ekspress constellation.[1]

Launch

Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center was contracted to launch Ekspress-AM4R, using a Proton-M / Briz-M launch vehicle - the same configuration that had failed to deploy Ekspress-AM4. The launch took place from Site 200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, at 21:42:00 UTC on 15 May 2014. Shortly after launch the launch vehicle was reported to have encountered a problem during third stage flight, and as a result the satellite failed to reach orbit.[2]

References