TheAniksatellites are a series ofgeostationarycommunications satellites launched forTelesat Canada fortelevision, voice and data in Canada and other parts of the world, from 1972 through 2013. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired to agraveyard orbit. The naming of the satellite was determined by a national contest, and was won by Julie-Frances Czapla ofSaint-Léonard, Québec.[1] InInuktitut,Anik means "brother".[2][3]
| Name | Satellite type | Launched | Retired | Launch vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anik A1 | Hughes Aircraft HS-333 | November 9, 1972 | July 15, 1982 | Delta 1914 |
| Anik A2 | Hughes Aircraft HS-333 | April 20, 1973 | October 6, 1982 | Delta 1914 |
| Anik A3 | Hughes Aircraft HS-333 | May 7, 1975 | November 21, 1984 | Delta 2914 |
| Anik B1 | RCA Astro Satcom | December 15, 1978[4] | December 1, 1986 | Delta 3914 |
| Anik C1 | Hughes Aircraft HS-376 | April 12, 1985 | May 5, 2003 | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Anik C2 | Hughes Aircraft HS-376 | June 18, 1983 | January 7, 1998 | Space Shuttle Challenger |
| Anik C3 | Hughes Aircraft HS-376 | November 11, 1982 | June 18, 1997 | Space Shuttle Columbia |
| Anik D1 | Hughes Aircraft HS-376 | August 26, 1982 | December 16, 1991 | Delta 3920 |
| Anik D2 | Hughes Aircraft HS-376 | November 8, 1984 | January 31, 1995 | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Anik E1 | GE Astro 5000 | September 26, 1991 | January 18, 2005[5] | Ariane 44P |
| Anik E2 | GE Astro 5000 | April 4, 1991 | November 23, 2005[5] | Ariane 44P |
| Anik F1 | HS 702 | November 21, 2000 | Still in use | Ariane 44L |
| Anik F2 | Boeing 702 | July 17, 2004 | Still in use | Ariane 5 G |
| Anik F1R | Eurostar E3000 | September 9, 2005 | Still in use | Proton M / Briz-M |
| Anik F3 | Eurostar E3000 | April 10, 2007 | Still in use | Proton M / Briz-M |
| Anik G1 | SSL 1300[6] | April 16, 2013 | Still in use | Proton M / Briz-M |
The Anik A satellites were the world's first national domestic satellites. (Prior to Anik A1's launch, all geosynchronous communications satellites were transcontinental, i.e.Intelsat I and others.)[7] The Anik A fleet of three satellites gaveCBC the ability to reach the Canadian North for the first time. Each of the satellites was equipped with 12C-bandtransponders, and thus had the capacity for 12 colour television channels. Three channels were allocated for CBC, two toTCTS andCNCP Telecommunications, two toBell Canada, one forCanadian Overseas Telecommunications. Two channels were to put on reserve and the remaining two were unallocated (future use).[8][9]
It was launched on December 15, 1978, and was the successor to the Anik A series andHermes (akaCommunications Technology Satellite, or CTS) experimental satellite. Most of thetransponders were devoted toCBC Television — East and West feeds ofCBC North,CBC Parliamentary Television Network,CITV-TV Edmonton,CHCH Hamilton, andTVOntario.
CNCP Telecommunications[10] also used Anik B as a relay for its services.The Globe and Mail used Anik B to transmit copy to printing plants across Canada.[11]
The Anik C satellite series tripled the power output of the Anik A series. Anik C also allowed a significant increase in telecommunications capacity over Anik A. Each Anik C satellite had sixteenKu-band transponders.[12]
Anik C3 was used to distribute Canada's firstpay television networks --First Choice,Superchannel,C-Channel, Star Channel, AIM Pay-TV since February 1983.
Anik C3 transponder lineup (1983):
Anik D1 and Anik D2 series C-Band satellites were launched in 1982 and 1984. They were based on theHS-376 of Hughes design.
Anik E1 and Anik E2 were launched in the early 1990s to replace Anik D1 and Anik D2. Unlike the cylinder-shaped spin-stabilised satellites of the D-series, these were cubical,3-axis satellites using momentum wheels for attitude stabilisation.
Anik E2 experienced an anomaly during deployment of its C-band antenna, which was successfully deployed after several corrective maneuvers.[13]
On Thursday, January 20, 1994, Anik E1 and Anik E2 suffered problems due to solar activity. Anik E1 failed first at 17:50 UTC, knocking out satellite-delivered television signals in Canada. After a few hours, Telesat managed to restore normal functions on Anik E1 at 00:15 UTC, on 21 January 1994. At 01:00 UTC, both the primary and redundant Anik E2 momentum wheels failed, thus eliminating thegyroscope effect that helps keep the satellite pointed correctly towards Earth. The exact problem lay with thecircuitry having to do with the stabilizingmomentum wheel.[14] Anik E2 was not restored to service for five months; users had to relocate services to Anik E1 and reposition satellite dishes; for some users, such asNorthwestel innorthern Canada, it meant days of flying technicians from one community to another to reposition the dishes.
Telesat ultimately restored Anik E2 by constructing special earth stations at each end of the country to monitor the satellite's position, and designed specialised software to use a combination of its control jets and magnetic torquing coils to finely position the satellite. Even though a small amount of extra stationkeeping fuel was needed for pitch control, the efficiencies from using the magnetic coils for roll-yaw adjustment compensated for fuel usage that would have been used in those axes, so there was an insignificant overall effect on fuel use throughout the life of the satellite. The Anik E2 satellite continued to provide full service for 14 years; two years longer than its design life of 12 years.
On March 26, 1996, another catastrophic failure occurred. A critical diode on Anik E1's solar panel shorted out, causing a permanent loss of half the satellite's power.[15]
Anik F1 is a Canadiangeosynchronouscommunications satellite that was launched on November 21, 2000, by anAriane 4 rocket from theEuropean Space AgencyCentre Spatial Guyanais atKourou. At the moment of its launch it was the most powerful communications satellite ever built. It has an advancedxenon ion thruster propulsion system and its communication "footprint" coversCentral America as well asNorth America.
It was launched forTelesat Canada, a Canadian communications company. The primary customers are theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation,Shaw Direct,CHUM Limited andCanadian Satellite Communications Inc., andBell Canada Enterprise Inc.
The solar panels of Anik F1 degraded more rapidly than expected, and a replacement Anik F1R was launched in 2005, with Anik F1 switching to serving onlySouth America[2]. Anik F1R also carries aGPS/WAAS payload in addition to theC-band andKu-band transponders. The GPS /WAAS Payload was disabled on May 15, 2022, in concert with the activation of Galaxy XV.
At 5,900 kilograms (13,000 lb), it is more than ten times the size of Anik A2 and is one of the largest, most powerful communications satellites ever built. Anik F2 is aBoeing 702-series satellite, designed to support and enhance current North American voice, data, and broadcast services with its C-Band and Ku-band technologies. It is the fifteenth satellite to be launched by Telesat Canada.
With its use ofKa band technology, low-cost two-way satellite delivery will be available for wirelessInternet access connections,telehealth,distance education,remote work applications, ande-commerce in the most remote regions of Canada.
On October 6, 2011, starting around 06:30 EST a "technical" anomaly caused the satellite to point away from the Earth causing an outage in Internet, telephone and bank machine connectivity throughout much of Canada's northern areas. The outage also affected flights in the region.[16][17][18] Some hospitals inQuébec reported an outage in their communications systems as a result of the satellite outage.[19] The anomaly was caused when the satellite did not respond well to a software update. As it failed, it turned away from the Earth and positioned itself towards theSun in order to keep critical systems running. This was Anik F2's first outage. The event caused the Canadian military's research arm,Defence Research and Development Canada, to start considering satellites as critical infrastructure systems and to invest in research to develop innovations that will help protect Canadian satellites from failures.[20]
On October 2, 2016, at approximately 17:00 EDT, another malfunction with Anik F2 resulted in a loss of Northwestel's long distance and cellular service,Xplornet and some ofSSI Micro Internet, and some TV signals forShaw Direct Satellite TV.[21][22]
Anik F2 has lost two of its four thrusters. As a result, continued operation uses significantly more fuel. Telesat has announced[23] that it is acquiring an in-orbit satellite to replace Anik F2. An FCC filing by Telesat has since revealed[24] that the company is buyingAMC-11 from SES. Once the FCC has issued its permit, Telesat can take over AMC-11 and move it to 111.1° West. It will be renamed Anik F4.
According to SatNews Publishers, Anik F3 is a 4,634 kilograms (10,216 lb) broadcasting and telecommunications satellite which will providedirect-to-home television in the United States,broadband Internet andtelecommunications forBell Canada, and broadcast TV in northern and other remote areas of Canada.[25] It was built byEADS Astrium and launched on aProton-M rocket. It was successfully placed into orbit byInternational Launch Services, who also launched Anik F1R, Nimiq 1 and Nimiq 2.
However, previous to launch, it was announced thatDish would be leasing the entire capacity of Anik F3 for its entire estimated life of approximately 15 years. Today, Anik F3 is used by Dish to beam its "international" foreign language channel offerings. A slightly larger reflector provided by Dish to its customers is required to receive the weaker (as compared to the stronger Ku DBS band used by Dish andDirecTV as their primary satellites) Ku FSS band reliably. Also, Dish uses a specially designed "combo" LNB that houses both elements necessary to receive Dish services from both 118 and 119 taking the space of only a single LNB. The combo LNB is also available part of a single LNBF unit that can also receive additional Dish programming at 110 and 129 satellite locations for reception of Dish's entire Western Arc constellation of satellites providing both SD and HD content. Dish does not produce any 118 only LNBF's for its systems, only the combo 118/119 by itself or as part of a single unit that also receives other Dish satellites.
Anik G1 was launched on April 16, 2013, by aProton-M fromBaikonur Cosmodrome forTelesat.[26]
Anik G1 is a multi-mission satellite manufactured bySpace Systems/Loral on itsLS1300E platform. It has three payloads that providedirect-to-home (DTH) television service in Canada, as well as broadband, voice, data, and video services inSouth America where economic growth has driven high demand for satellite services. It is also the first commercial satellite with a substantialX-band payload, for government communications from 178˚W to 35˚W covering theAmericas and thePacific Ocean, includingHawaii. The satellite is positioned at 107.3° West longitude where it is co-located with Telesat's Anik F1 satellite, doubling both the C-band and Ku-band transponders serving South America.[27][28]
The Anik G1 X-band capacity was leased to the operators of the United KingdomMinistry of DefenceSkynet system, helping Skynet expand to near global coverage.[29][28]
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