(18 December 2010 2:45 pm)

MUMBAI: The Bsat-3b broadcasting satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan, is now operational following successful on-orbit deployment and checkout of all spacecraft systems.

The spacecraft is located at orbital location 110 degrees east and is expected to provide more than 15 years of service for B-Sat.

BSat-3b features 12 130 W Ku-band channels, eight operating simultaneously, and is based on the A2100A platform manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS), Newtown, Pa.

The satellite broadcasts high-definition television to homes and businesses throughout Japan and links ground stations with 90 million HDTV terminals across the country.

B-Sat president and CEO Kazuo Takenaka said, “I am very pleased that LMCSS has delivered the perfect satellite to B-Sat again. B-Sat expects high reliability from BSat-3b, which will support digital broadcasting service in Japan in conjunction with BSat-3a.”

The Lockheed Martin A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series is designed to meet a wide variety of telecommunications needs including Ka-band broadband and broadcast services, fixed satellite services in C-band and Ku-band, high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency spectrum and mobile satellite services using UHF, L-band, and S-band payloads.

The A2100’s modular design features simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost. The A2100 design accommodates a large range of communication payloads and serves as the platform for critical government communications programs, including the Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Mobile User Objective System satellites.