Engineering:ProtoStar

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ProtoStar Ltd was a private company incorporated in Bermuda, with U.S. operations based in San Francisco, California , California and Asian operations based in Singapore. ProtoStar intended to operate an initial fleet of three geostationary satellites.[1] Two satellites were acquired and launched. ProtoStar's anchor customer, Dish TV India Limited, is the largest direct-to-home television operator in India.[2]

Bankruptcy and auction

ProtoStar Ltd filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on June 29, 2009.[3]

ProtoStar sought and was made by the bankruptcy court to auction its two satellites to pay its outstanding liabilities. The auction for ProtoStar I was set by the bankruptcy court for October 14, 2009,[4] however the auction was delayed until October 31, 2009, based on interest from 11 different satellite operating companies.[5] The auction was won by Intelsat Corp with a bid of $210M, beating out European rival Eutelsat.[6]

ProtoStar I

The ProtoStar I satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) based on the SS/L 1300 spacecraft design. It was originally built by SS/L as the ChinaSat 8 satellite and scheduled for launch in April 1999 on a Long March 3B rocket.[7] However, the U.S. Department of State blocked its export to China under ITAR regulations.[8] The satellite was placed in storage and sold to ProtoStar in 2006.[9]

On January 5, 2007, SS/L announced that the satellite would be modified to meet ProtoStar's requirements.[10] The fueled satellite weighed 4,100 kilograms (9,000 lb) and will operate in both the Ku band and the C band.[11]

On January 8, 2007 Arianespace announced that ProtoStar had contracted with Arianespace for the launch of ProtoStar I.[11] It was launched aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket on July 7, 2008.[12] Post-launch maneuvering of the satellite was performed successfully July 8, 2008.,[2] and ProtoStar I was placed into its geostationary orbital location of 98.5 degrees East Longitude.

Following the sale of ProtoStar I in the ProtoStar bankruptcy auction, October 29, 2009, and the completion of the sale with Intelsat, Intelsat renamed the satellite Intelsat 25.[13] Intelsat 25 will serve for African market at 31.5 West orbital location.

ProtoStar II

Main page: Engineering:SES-7

On January 14, 2008, Boeing announced that the Boeing Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, California would provide a spacecraft based on the Boeing 601HP spacecraft design for use as ProtoStar II.[14] The spacecraft was originally built for PanAmSat (now Intelsat) to be used as Galaxy-8iR, but that contract was terminated November 15, 2002.[15] On May 16, 2009, ProtoStar II was carried to orbit on a Proton rocket provided by International Launch Services.[16]

On June 16, 2009, Boeing announced the successful in-orbit handover of the satellite to ProtoStar Ltd. following successful in-orbit tests.[17]

In December 2009 SES purchased Protostar II at auction for its SES World Skies unit. The purchase price was $185 million.[18]

Ground control segment

The ProtoStar I ground control system is in Singapore and will be operated by SingTel. For ProtoStar II the primary control system will be installed in Indonesia and operated by Indovision, with a backup system integrated into the control system for ProtoStar I. Hardware and software for these systems are being provided by Integral Systems.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "ProtoStar Closes On US$210 Million Satellite Financing". November 16, 2006. https://spaceref.com/press-release/protostar-closes-on-us210-million-satellite-financing/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Space Systems/Loral-Built ProtoStar I Satellite Successfully Performs Post-Launch Maneuvers". Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. https://archive.today/20120912135246/http://www.ssloral.com/html/pressreleases/pr20080708.html. 
  3. ↑ Jason Cornell (August 1, 2009). "Direct Satellite TV Provider, ProtoStar, Files for Bankruptcy Following Defaults on Loan Agreements". Delawarebankruptcy.foxrothschild.com. http://delawarebankruptcy.foxrothschild.com/2009/08/articles/bankruptcy-case-summary/direct-satellite-tv-provider-protostar-files-for-bankruptcy-following-defaults-on-loan-agreements/. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Bankruptcy Court Sets Protostar Auction Dates". SpaceNews.com. August 31, 2009. http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/091009protostar-auction.html. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
  5. ↑ Doug Lung (May 11, 2009). "Intelsat Wins ProtoStar 1 Satellite Auction". Tvtechnology.com. http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/89950. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
  6. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (October 30, 2009). "Intelsat Outbids Eutelsat for Protostar-1". SpaceNews.com. http://spacenews.com/intelsat-outbids-eutelsat-protostar-1/. 
  7. ↑ Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (April 26, 1999). "Launch schedule". Commercial Space Transportation Quarterly Launch Report. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/media/quarter9902.pdf. 
  8. ↑ Zelnio, Ryan (January 9, 2006). "A short history of export control policy". The Space Review. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/528/1. 
  9. ↑ Loral (January 7, 2007). "Loral to convert unlaunched ChinaSat-8 for ProtoStar" (Press release). Spaceflight Now.
  10. ↑ "Space Systems/Loral Awarded Contract To Deliver Satellite To ProtoStar Ltd.". SS/L. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. https://archive.today/20120912143251/http://www.ssloral.com/html/pressreleases/pr20070105.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Arianespace to launch ProtoStar I". Arianespace. Archived from the original on 2008-06-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20080608144357/http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/releases/07_01_08_protostar_release_index.html. 
  12. ↑ "Another successful Arianespace launch: ProtoStar I and BADR-6 are in orbit". Arianespace. http://www.arianespace.com/site/news/releases/presrel08_07_07.html. 
  13. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Intelsat to buy ProtoStar 1 satellite for $210 mln". Reuters. October 10, 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/protostar-takeover-intelsat/update-1-intelsat-to-buy-protostar-1-satellite-for-210-mln-idUKBNG25532620091030. 
  14. ↑ "Boeing Awarded Contract for Direct-to-Home Entertainment Satellite". Boeing. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524142646/http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2008/q1/080114b_nr.html. 
  15. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "ProtoStar 2". http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/indostar-2_protostar-2.htm. 
  16. ↑ "ILS Proton Successfully launches Indostar II/Protostar II Satellite". May 16, 2009. Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101010211726/http://ilslaunch.com/news-051609. 
  17. ↑ "Boeing Hands Over IndoStar II/ProtoStar II Satellite Following Successful In-Orbit Tests". ProtoStar. June 16, 2009. http://www.protostarsat.com/news/16jun09.html. 
  18. ↑ Peter B. de Selding (December 17, 2009). "SES Wins Auction for ProtoStar 2". Space News. http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/091217-ses-wins-auction-for-protostar2.html. 
  19. ↑ "Integral Systems Awarded Contract to Provide Protostar-II Ground Segment". Integral Systems. April 22, 2008. http://www.integ.com/PR2008/ISIAwardedContProtostarII.pdf. 



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