Astra 1A

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Astra 1A

Astra 1A was the first satellite

Communications satellite

A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits and low Earth orbits....
launched and operated by Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), now SES Astra

SES Astra

SES Astra SA, is a corporation subsidiary of SES S.A., based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, in eastern Luxembourg, that owns and operates the Astra series of geostationary orbit communication satellites, which Transmission approximately 2300 analog television and digital television and radio channel via 242 transponders to 109 million house...
. During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite originally.

The satellite provided television coverage to Western Europe and was revolutionary as one of the first medium-powered satellites, allowing reception with smaller dishes than before.

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Encyclopedia

Astra 1A was the first satellite

Communications satellite

SES Astra

Sky Television plc

For other uses, see Sky Television.Sky Television plc was a four-channel satellite television service launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989....
(later British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting is a company that operates Sky Digital , a subscription television service in the UK and Republic of Ireland. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels....
, after the merger with rival British Satellite Broadcasting

British Satellite Broadcasting

British Satellite Broadcasting was a United Kingdom television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom....
on the Marcopolo

Marcopolo

Marcopolo or Marco Polo 1 and 2 were two Communications satellite designed, launched and tested by Hughes Space and Communications for British Satellite Broadcasting, and were used for United Kingdom's Direct Broadcast Service....
satellite) service consisting of Sky One/Sky Channel, Sky News

Sky News

Sky News is a rolling TV news channel providing 24 hour news coverage including the latest breaking news. Currently broadcasting from a news centre in London, the channel provides domestic and international coverage to audiences in the UK as well as around the globe....
, Sky Movies

Sky Movies

Sky Movies is the collective name for the United Kingdom premium subscription television film channels operated by Sky Television plc, and later British Sky Broadcasting....
and Eurosport

Eurosport

Eurosport is a European sports satellite and cable television network, available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 20 different languages. It is owned and operated by the TF1 Group....
, the Scandinavian TV3

TV3 (Viasat)

TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. Viasat is part of the Sweden media company Modern Times Group....
and TV1000

TV1000

TV1000 is a group of cable and satellite movie channels broadcasting to the Nordic countries and owned by Modern Times Group . It is also the name of the flagship channel....
, the German Pro7, Sat.1

Sat.1

Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television....
, RTL plus, 3sat

3sat

3sat is the name of a public, advertising-free, television network in Central Europe. The programming is in German, and is broadcast primarily within Germany, Austria and Switzerland....
and Teleclub, the Dutch RTL4 as well as FilmNet

Canal+

Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming and mostly encrypted, but does broadcast some programs without encryption....
, Screensport

Screensport

Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. The network was launched as a stand-alone channel in Manchester in 1984 and later acquired by the WH Smith Television Group in 1987....
, MTV Europe

MTV Europe

MTV Europe launched on MTV's 6th birthday 1 August, 1987 under a co-operative agreement by Viacom and British Telecom until 1991 when Viacom took over full ownership....
, The Children's Channel

The Children's Channel

The Children's Channel was an early cable channel which began broadcasting on September 1, 1984 in the United Kingdom. It also became available on the Astra Satellite in 1989....
and Lifestyle.

Astra 1A began television broadcasts on February 5 1989. Until 1998 all of SES Astra's satellites were co-located with 1A at 19.2° east, leading that position to be known mostly as Astra 1 (later, Astra 19.2°E

Astra 19.2°E

Astra 19.2?E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2?East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES S.A....
), although Astra 2C

Astra 2C

Astra 2C is a communications satellite owned and operated by SES Astra. Designed to join Astra 2A and Astra 2B at the Astra 28.2?E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcast services to the UK and Republic of Ireland, the satellite was first used at 19.2?E for pan-European coverage....
also used to operate there, before it moved to 28.2° east

Astra 28.2°E

Astra 28.2?E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 28.2? East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES S.A....
in autumn 2007.

In December 2004 Astra 1A was moved into a "Graveyard orbit

Graveyard orbit

A graveyard orbit, also called a supersynchronous orbit, junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an orbit significantly above synchronous orbit where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life....
" after some time at 5.2°E providing data services.

History

The satellite came into its position on January 7, 1989. FilmNet became the first channel on the satellite when it launched on transponder 11 on February 1. Other channels such as Sky Channel

Sky Channel

Sky Channel can refer to any of the following.* In Europe, Sky Channel was a satellite television channel that was broadcast in the 1980s, it went on to become Sky1....
, Eurosport

Eurosport

Sky News

Sky Movies

Sky Movies is the collective name for the United Kingdom premium subscription television film channels operated by Sky Television plc, and later British Sky Broadcasting....
from Sky Television, as well as the Scandinavian TV3 and MTV Europe

MTV Europe

MTV Europe launched on MTV's 6th birthday 1 August, 1987 under a co-operative agreement by Viacom and British Telecom until 1991 when Viacom took over full ownership....
all launched in February. The Children's Channel

The Children's Channel

The Children's Channel was an early cable channel which began broadcasting on September 1, 1984 in the United Kingdom. It also became available on the Astra Satellite in 1989....
/Lifestyle

Lifestyle (TV channel)

Lifestyle was a United Kingdom television channel dedicated to women and family, and was broadcast on cable and on the transponder 5 of the Astra satellite....
and Screensport

Screensport

TV1000

TV1000 is a group of cable and satellite movie channels broadcasting to the Nordic countries and owned by Modern Times Group . It is also the name of the flagship channel....
launched in August 1989.

Sky Television had originally planned to launch The Disney Channel and Sky Arts on the Astra satellite in 1989, but these plans failed to materialize. The transponders intended for these channels, were used for Eurosport and the Dutch RTL Veronique (which would later become RTL4), respectively. The first German language programmes, RTL plus, Sat.1

Sat.1

Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television....
and Pro 7

Pro 7

ProSieben is a commercial television station in german television distributed to a large extent via cable television and satellite television along with DVB-T in larger population centres....
all launched on December 8. With the launch of 3sat

3sat

Vox

Vox is Latin for Voice, but may refer to:* Vocals, abbreviated...
in January 1993. Soon thereafter, Screensport merged with Eurosport and its transponder was replaced by RTL2. RTL 4 moved to Astra 1D

Astra 1D

Astra 1D was the fourth, and under original plans, last communications satellite from Soci?t? Europ?enne des Satellites , now SES Astra. It was launched to Astra's original solitary operational position at Astra 19.2?E, and was intended as an in-orbit spare for Astra's Astra 1A, Astra 1B and Astra 1C....
in 1995 and was replaced by Super RTL

Super RTL

Super RTL is a Cologne-based Germany television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children ....
. Teleclub was replaced by Kabel 1

Kabel 1

kabel eins is a commercial television channel in german television. It started business on February 29, 1992, as the Kabelkanal and belongs to the ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG....
during the same year. TV3 and TV1000 left Astra in 1996 and their transponders were taken over by BSkyB who used them for Fox Kids/Sky Two

Sky Two

Sky2 is a British television channel, known when it first launched as Sky One Mix and subsequently simply Sky Mix it was then rebranded from Sky Two into Sky2....
and Granada Plus

Granada Plus

Granada Plus was a satellite channel run by ITV Digital Channels Ltd. It was launched on 1 October 1996 - 1 November 2004 and was later rebranded as G Plus or G+ and then simply Plus....
/Granada Men & Motors. Filmnet also left in 1996, to be replaced by Bloomberg Germany

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Television is a network that airs business and financial news 24 hours a day, and is distributed globally on ten separate channels. Bloomberg Television is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P....
in 1997.

BSkyB ended their analogue service in 2001, which meant that its services closed down. By the end of 2001, the satellite was moved from 19.2 degrees east to serve few years at 5,2 degrees east.

On 19.2 degrees east, the satellite was replaced by Astra 1F. Many channels, including RTL II, RTL, Eurosport, VOX, Sat.1, Kabel Eins, Super RTL and ProSieben were still broadcasting in analogue on the same frequencies in 2009.

Transponders

Transponder	Frequency	Channels carried
1	11,214 H	Screensport Screensport Screensport was a pan-European sports television channel. The network was launched as a stand-alone channel in Manchester in 1984 and later acquired by the WH Smith Television Group in 1987.... (1989-1993), RTL2 (1993-)
2	11,229 V	RTL RTL Television RTL Television is a German television commercial television station distributed via cable television and satellite television along with DVB-T .... (1989-)
3	11,244 H	TV3 Sweden (1989-1996), Granada Plus Granada Plus Granada Plus was a satellite channel run by ITV Digital Channels Ltd. It was launched on 1 October 1996 - 1 November 2004 and was later rebranded as G Plus or G+ and then simply Plus.... /Granada Men & Motors (1996-2001) RTL Shop RTL Shop Channel 21 is a German cable and satellite shopping network based in Hanover. The network is part of Europe's largest media company RTL Group and supplies programming to more than 20 German language stations.... (2001)
4	11,259 V	Eurosport Eurosport Eurosport is a European sports satellite and cable television network, available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 20 different languages. It is owned and operated by the TF1 Group.... (1989-)
5	11,273 H	Lifestyle/The Children's Channel The Children's Channel The Children's Channel was an early cable channel which began broadcasting on September 1, 1984 in the United Kingdom. It also became available on the Astra Satellite in 1989.... (1989-1993) VOX Vox Vox is Latin for Voice, but may refer to:* Vocals, abbreviated... (1993-)
6	11,288 V	Sat.1 Sat.1 Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television.... (1989-)
7	11,303 H	TV1000 TV1000 TV1000 is a group of cable and satellite movie channels broadcasting to the Nordic countries and owned by Modern Times Group . It is also the name of the flagship channel.... (1989-1996), Sky 2 Sky 2 Sky 2 was a television channel from British Sky Broadcasting launched in 1996 as a sister channel to Sky1, as part of a new bouquet of Sky channels including .tv and Sky Scottish.... (1996-1997) Fox Kids (1996-2001), National Geographic Channel National Geographic Channel (UK) The National Geographic Channel is a television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features some programming similar to that on the Discovery Channel such as nature and science documentaries.... (1997-2001) Viva Zwei (2001)
8	Sky One Sky One Sky1 is a British Sky Broadcasting entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The channel first launched in 1982 as "Satellite Television", and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the UK, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two .... (1989-2001)
9	11,332 H	Eurosport Eurosport Eurosport is a European sports satellite and cable television network, available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 20 different languages. It is owned and operated by the TF1 Group.... (1989), Teleclub (1990-1995) Kabel 1 Kabel 1 kabel eins is a commercial television channel in german television. It started business on February 29, 1992, as the Kabelkanal and belongs to the ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.... (1995-)
10	11,347 V	3sat 3sat 3sat is the name of a public, advertising-free, television network in Central Europe. The programming is in German, and is broadcast primarily within Germany, Austria and Switzerland....
11	11,362 H	FilmNet Filmnet Nova Cinema is a premium television service available in Greece that broadcasts blockbuster movies and hit series. It is the only 24/7 Movie service in Greece and it launched in 1994.... (1989-1996), Bloomberg Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television is a network that airs business and financial news 24 hours a day, and is distributed globally on ten separate channels. Bloomberg Television is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P.... (1997-
12	11,377 V	Sky News Sky News Sky News is a rolling TV news channel providing 24 hour news coverage including the latest breaking news. Currently broadcasting from a news centre in London, the channel provides domestic and international coverage to audiences in the UK as well as around the globe.... (1989-2001)
13	11,391 H	RTL 4 RTL 4 RTL 4 is a commercial television station in the Netherlands. It is one of the biggest commercial television stations in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49.... (1990-1995), Super RTL Super RTL Super RTL is a Cologne-based Germany television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children .... (1995-)
14	11,406 V	Pro Sieben (1989-)
15	11,421 H	MTV Europe MTV Europe MTV Europe launched on MTV's 6th birthday 1 August, 1987 under a co-operative agreement by Viacom and British Telecom until 1991 when Viacom took over full ownership.... (1989-)
16	11,436 V	Sky Movies Sky Movies Sky Movies is the collective name for the United Kingdom premium subscription television film channels operated by Sky Television plc, and later British Sky Broadcasting.... (1989-2001)

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