| Names | Eutelsat 28F |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Communications |
| Operator | SES S.A. |
| COSPAR ID | 2012-051A |
| SATCATno. | 38778 |
| Website | https://www.ses.com/ |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned) 13 years, 1 month, 5 days (elapsed) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Eurostar |
| Bus | Eurostar-3000 |
| Manufacturer | Astrium (nowAirbus Defence and Space) |
| Launch mass | 5,968 kg (13,157 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 September 2012, 21:18:07UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 5ECA (VA209) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais,ELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Entered service | 21 November 2012 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | 28.2° East |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 63transponders: 60Ku-band 3Ka-band |
| Coverage area | Europe |
Astra 2F is one of theAstracommunications satellites owned and operated bySES S.A., launched in September 2012 to theAstra 28.2°E orbital position.[2] The satellite providesfree-to-air andencrypteddirect-to-home (DTH)digital television andsatellite broadband services for Europe andAfrica.
Astra 2F is the first of three "second generation" satellites for the 28.2° East position which replace the first generationAstra 2A,Astra 2B andAstra 2D satellites previously positioned there.[3][4] The second,Astra 2E, was launched in 2013 and the third,Astra 2G, was launched in 2014.[5][6] Some parts of the construction of Astra 2F byAstrium (nowAirbus Defence and Space) inStevenage, United Kingdom could be seen in theBBC2 documentary programme,How To Build... A Satellite broadcast on 27 November 2011.
Astra 2F was successfully launched fromKourou inFrench Guiana on 28 September 2012, at 21:18:07UTC by anAriane 5ECAlaunch vehicle fromCentre Spatial Guyanais.[7] and underwent in-orbit testing at 43.5° East.[8] Commercial operations at 28.2° East began on 21 November 2012.[9]
The Astra 28.2° East orbital position was established in 1998 to provide digital television, digital radio and multimedia services to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and Astra 2F's primary mission is to continue this provision as replacement and follow-on capacity to theAstra 2A,Astra 2B,Astra 2D andAstra 1N satellites, delivering programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000Internet Protocol television (IPTV) homes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major UK digitalsatellite televisionsatellite bus,BSkyB andFreesat.[10]
In addition, Astra 2F serves the growing direct-to-home (DTH) platforms inWest Africa such asMulti TV ofGhana.
Astra 2F is also designed to provideSES Broadband’s first commercialKa-band satellite broadband service in Europe, with a Ka-band payload delivering high-speed Internet access (at download speeds up to 20 Mbit/s) along withVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) from November 2012.
Astra 2F has threeKu-banddownlink beams covering Europe andAfrica. The Europe Beam is centred on the English Channel with maximum signal (for reception on a 40 cm dish) over the United Kingdom, Ireland, France,Benelux, and parts of Germany,Austria, and Spain (including a "lobe" specifically designed to serve theCanary Islands which officially requires a 120 cm dish but in practise is easily receivable using a 90 cm dish as with Astra 2E), and reception on a 1 m dish extending toNorth Africa, Poland and theBalkans.
The UK Beam provides maximum signal (40 cm dishes) over the United Kingdom, Ireland, Benelux and Northern France in close approximation of the UK Beam ofAstra 2D, which it replaces.[11] Due to the tight footprint, some reception issues for UK channels are being reported in Spain as of December 2012. Early reports of test transmissions on 11.023GHz H 23000 DVB-S2 suggest the beam is very tight with a very sharp fall off to the west and east of the footprint, but eastern Spain seems to be getting a higher signal strength possibly due to the off-axis beam as 28.2° East on the geostationary arc is not directly in line with the United Kingdom but offset to the east.[12]
The West Africa beam provides for reception with 60 cm dishes across southern West Africa fromSenegal toNigeria, with a lower signal level (80 cm dishes) extending across theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.[13]
The Ka-band footprint for satellite broadband provides full service coverage across western Europe from the United Kingdom and France in the west to theCzech Republic, Austria,Croatia andBosnia and Herzegovina in the east.[14]
Below is a list of the TV channels broadcast to Europe from activetransponders on Astra 2F as of April 2025[update]:[15][16]
UK Beam
Tp109 11.306 GHz H 27500 2/3:
Tp110 11.306 GHz V 27500 5/6:
Tp111 11.344 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp112 11.344 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2:
European Beam
Tp21 12.110 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp22 12.129 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp23 12.148 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp24 12.168 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp25 12.188 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp26 12.207 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp27 12.226 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp28 12.246 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp29 12.266 GHz H 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp30 12.285 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp32 12.324 GHz V 27500 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted inVideoGuard):
Tp35 12.382 GHz H 29500 2/3 DVB-S2:
