Westar
Encyclopedia
Westar was the name for the fleet of geosynchronous communications satellite
s operating in the C band
which were launched by Western Union
from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, with five of them launched and operating under the Westar name.
In many international recognized books (e.g. "Satellite Communications" by Timothy Pratt and Charles Bostian along with Jeremy Allmutt), Westar is considered as a domestic satellite, due to the Westar fleet chiefly serving (and being in orbit of) its originating country of the United States, as well as Canada.
(launched on April 13, 1974) has the distinction of being the USA's first commercially launched geosynchronous communications satellite, following North America's first geosynchronous communications satellite, Canada
's Anik A1 in 1972. Westar 1 was put into orbit at 99° W in the Clarke belt (99° W now being the home of Galaxy 16).
Westar 2 was launched shortly afterward on October 10, 1974, and Westar 3 was launched on August 10, 1979. Westars 1, 2 and 3 were built by Hughes
using the HS 333
platform of spin-scan stabilized satellites. They only had 12 transponder
s onboard, as opposed to later C-band communications satellites having 24, and even contemporary satellites of the same era, such as RCA's Satcom 1.
The later Westar 4 (launched on February 26, 1982) and Westar 5 (launched on June 9, 1982) satellites, were based on the Hughes HS 376 platform, and had 24 transponder
s available, as opposed to the 12 on Westars 1, 2, and 3.
Westar 6, also an HS-376 based satellite, was launched from STS-41-B
on February 3, 1984, to be put into service afterward, but the perigee kick motor (also known as the Payload Assist Module
, or PAM) on the satellite failed during its approach to geosynchronous orbit, placing it at an improper and inoperable low Earth orbit
. It was retrieved on November 16, 1984, by the STS-51-A
mission of NASA
's Space Shuttle
, where it was brought back to earth and refurbished. It was then resold to China
, and relaunched on April 7, 1990, as AsiaSat 1. The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Westar 6, as well as the Palapa B2 satellite which shared the launch payload with Westar 6, was funded by the insurance
companies that insured the launch of those two satellites.
An on-ground spare satellite to Westar 6, Westar 6S, was in development by Western Union and Hughes when Western Union decided to divest themselves of their telecommunications-based assets starting in the early 1980s after suffering heavy financial losses. This resulted in Western Union selling the Westar satellite fleet and operations to Hughes in 1988.
Hughes then finished development of Westar 6S, and renamed it Galaxy 6. Modifications were made to it, and Galaxy 6 was launched on October 12, 1990.
Hughes later launched the Galaxy 4 satellite in 1992 and Galaxy 5 in 1993 to replace Westar 4 and 5 respectively, after the latter satellites reached the end of their useful life.
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s operating in the C band
C band
The C band is a name given to certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including wavelengths of microwaves that are used for long-distance radio telecommunications. The IEEE C-band - and its slight variations - contains frequency ranges that are used for many satellite communications...
which were launched by Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, with five of them launched and operating under the Westar name.
In many international recognized books (e.g. "Satellite Communications" by Timothy Pratt and Charles Bostian along with Jeremy Allmutt), Westar is considered as a domestic satellite, due to the Westar fleet chiefly serving (and being in orbit of) its originating country of the United States, as well as Canada.
Background
Westar 1Westar 1
Westar 1 was America's first domestic and commercially launched geostationary communications satellite, launched by Western Union and NASA on April 13, 1974. It was built by Hughes for Western Union, using the HS-333 platform of spin-stabilized satellites. Westar 1 was the first of five Westar...
(launched on April 13, 1974) has the distinction of being the USA's first commercially launched geosynchronous communications satellite, following North America's first geosynchronous communications satellite, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's Anik A1 in 1972. Westar 1 was put into orbit at 99° W in the Clarke belt (99° W now being the home of Galaxy 16).
Westar 2 was launched shortly afterward on October 10, 1974, and Westar 3 was launched on August 10, 1979. Westars 1, 2 and 3 were built by Hughes
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
using the HS 333
HS 333
In 1970 Hughes Aircraft Corporation Space and Communications Group offered the first standardized satellite: the HS 333 design. A spinning satellite, it was based on previous one-design satellites like Intelsat I...
platform of spin-scan stabilized satellites. They only had 12 transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s onboard, as opposed to later C-band communications satellites having 24, and even contemporary satellites of the same era, such as RCA's Satcom 1.
The later Westar 4 (launched on February 26, 1982) and Westar 5 (launched on June 9, 1982) satellites, were based on the Hughes HS 376 platform, and had 24 transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s available, as opposed to the 12 on Westars 1, 2, and 3.
Westar 6, also an HS-376 based satellite, was launched from STS-41-B
STS-41-B
STS-41-B was the tenth NASA Space Shuttle mission, launching on 3 February 1984 and landing on 11 February. It was the fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Following STS-9, the flight numbering system for the Space Shuttle program was changed...
on February 3, 1984, to be put into service afterward, but the perigee kick motor (also known as the Payload Assist Module
Payload Assist Module
frame|PAM-D with the [[Phoenix |Phoenix]] spacecraft. The [[Star 48|Star 48-B]] engine is shown being spun, fired, [[Yo-yo de-spin|yo-yo de-spun]] and jettisoned.thumb|SBS-3 satellite with PAM-D stage inside the space shuttle...
, or PAM) on the satellite failed during its approach to geosynchronous orbit, placing it at an improper and inoperable low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. It was retrieved on November 16, 1984, by the STS-51-A
STS-51-A
STS-51-A was the second flight of Space Shuttle Discovery, and the 14th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on 8 November 1984, and landed just under eight days later on 16 November....
mission of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
, where it was brought back to earth and refurbished. It was then resold to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and relaunched on April 7, 1990, as AsiaSat 1. The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Westar 6, as well as the Palapa B2 satellite which shared the launch payload with Westar 6, was funded by the insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
companies that insured the launch of those two satellites.
An on-ground spare satellite to Westar 6, Westar 6S, was in development by Western Union and Hughes when Western Union decided to divest themselves of their telecommunications-based assets starting in the early 1980s after suffering heavy financial losses. This resulted in Western Union selling the Westar satellite fleet and operations to Hughes in 1988.
Hughes then finished development of Westar 6S, and renamed it Galaxy 6. Modifications were made to it, and Galaxy 6 was launched on October 12, 1990.
Hughes later launched the Galaxy 4 satellite in 1992 and Galaxy 5 in 1993 to replace Westar 4 and 5 respectively, after the latter satellites reached the end of their useful life.
Uplink sites for Westar
During the life of the Westar fleet, Western Union operated these dedicated uplink sites (now defunct, unless noted) for Westar:- The Yacolt earth stationEarth stationA ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
at Yacolt, WashingtonYacolt, WashingtonYacolt is a town in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,556 at the 2010 census.-History:Yacolt is an Indian term meaning "haunted place". In September 1902 the town, which consisted of only 15 buildings at the time, was nearly destroyed by the Yacolt Burn, the largest...
(now a satellite uplink site for MCIMCI Inc.MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
) - The Sky Valley earth station, located near Cordelia, California (north of San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
) - The Steele Valley earth station, near Perris, CaliforniaPerris, CaliforniaPerris is a city in Riverside County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city population was 68,386, up from 36,189 at the 2000 census. The city is named in honor of Fred T. Perris, chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad...
(southeast of Los AngelesLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) - The Kipapa earth station, near Waipio Acres, Hawaii
- The Cedar Hill earth station, at Cedar Hill, TexasCedar Hill, TexasCedar Hill is a city in Dallas and Ellis Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located approximately sixteen miles southwest of downtown Dallas and is situated along the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park. The population was 32,093 at the 2000 census...
(near DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
) (now a satellite teleportEarth stationA ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
station once again, as the headquarters of Westar Satellite Services http://www.westarsat.com) - The Estill Fork earth station, at Estill Fork, Alabama
- The Lake Geneva earth station, at Lake Geneva, WisconsinLake Geneva, WisconsinLake Geneva is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,148 at the 2000 census. A resort city located on Geneva Lake, it is southwest of Milwaukee and popular with tourists from metropolitan Chicago and Milwaukee.-History:...
(northwest of Chicago) - and the Glenwood earth station at Glenwood, New JerseyGlenwood, New JerseyGlenwood is in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07418.As of the United States 2000 Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 07418 was 2,751.-Famous residents:...
. Glenwood was the head earth station for the Westar fleet, providing TT&C (telemetry, tracking & control) & uplink services. (Now the uplink site for Sirius XM)
External links
- Description of the Westar satellites at Boeing Satellite System's (formerly Hughes) web site
- Gunter's Space Page - information on Westars 1, 2 & 3
- Gunter's Space Page information on 4, 5, & 6
- Photos of the Westar Sky Valley earth station
- 1977 map of terrestrial microwave relay sites of Western Union, including satellite uplink sites for Westar at the time (from archive.org's Wayback Machine)
