Sky satellite enters fuel-saving orbit 26 June 2006
By TOM PULLAR-STRECKER THE DOMINION POST [New Zealand] http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3711092a28,00.html Sky Television says the aging Optus B1 satellite it uses to broadcast pay-TV to New Zealand viewers will enter an inclined orbit mid-next month to conserve its dwindling fuel supply. A replacement satellite, which will also be used by TVNZ, TV3 and C4-owner CanWest to broadcast digital TV, is due to come to Sky's rescue in September. When in an inclined orbit, the normally geo-stationary B1 satellite will drift north and south, though spokeswoman Elaine Koller says the movements will be too small to affect TV reception for at least a year, by which time the satellite should be redundant. Geo-stationary satellites usually move in a tight figure-of-eight pattern, with boosters fired periodically to restrict movements within a small "box". But as they reach the end of their life and run low on fuel, they start to move further off-centre. If Optus B1 drifted too far north or south, Sky TV viewers would experience repeated temporary signal losses lasting minutes, then hours, till it drifted back toward its centre alignment. Sky's set-top boxes would attribute the signal loss to "atmospheric conditions". Ms Koller says Optus B1 has enough fuel to operate in an inclined orbit for 12-15 months before this happens. Optus plans to replace B1 with a new satellite, D1, which will also be used by the Freeview consortium to transmit free-to-air digital TV transmissions. D1 was originally due to be launched late last year but has experienced a series of delays. Ms Koller says D1 is now due to be delivered by United States manufacturer Orbital this week, ahead of its scheduled launch in September. Optus expects it should be in service by October. The September launch date has been confirmed by French firm Arianespace, which has the contract to launch the satellite, according to a report in The Australian. Ms Koller says Optus has "a comprehensive restoration plan for Sky services" in the event of the premature loss of B1, though Sky won't provide details. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
