Intelsat 901 (IS-901) is the first of nine new Intelsat satellites launched in June 2001 at 18° West, providingKu-band spot beam coverage for Europe andC-band coverage for theAtlantic Ocean region. It is capable of selectable split uplink forSatellite news gathering (SNG), tailored for increased communications demands such asDTH and Internet.
 Intelsat 901 satellite seen in orbit by MEV-1 | |
| Names | IS-901 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Communications |
| Operator | Intelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 2001-024A |
| SATCATno. | 26824 |
| Mission duration | 13 years (planned) 23 years, 8 months, 24 days (elapsed) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Intelsat 901 |
| Spacecraft type | SSL 1300 |
| Bus | SSL 1300HL |
| Manufacturer | Space Systems/Loral |
| Launch mass | 4,725 kg (10,417 lb) |
| Power | 8.6kW |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 June 2001, 06:45UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 44L (VA141) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais,ELA-2 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | Current position: 27.5° West First orbital position: 67.5° West |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 56transponders: 44C-band 12Ku-band |
| Bandwidth | 36 and 72MHz |
| EIRP | C-band global beam 36 dBW C-band Hemi Beam 38 dBW C-band beam zone 38 dBW Ku-band 53 dBW Europe Spot 1 Ku-band 52 dBw Europe Spot 2 |
| Docking withMEV-1 | |
| Docking date | 25 February 2020, 07:15 UTC |
| Undocking date | 2025 (planned) |
| Time docked | 1835 days(in progress) ~5 years(planned) |
Intelsat 901 was launched by anAriane 4 from theCentre Spatial Guyanais inFrench Guiana on 9 June 2001 at 06:45UTC.[1][2]
On 9 October 2015,SpaceNews reported that in April 2015, theRussian satelliteOlymp-K had moved to within 10 km (6.2 mi) of Intelsat 901 and the nearbyIntelsat 7, causing concerns of a safety-of-flight incident. Attempts by Intelsat to contact the Russian satellite operators were unsuccessful and no reason for the satellite's movement was given by the Russian government. The move sparked classified meetings within theDepartment of Defense and heightened suspicions that Olymp-K satellite was performingsignals intelligence, or was possibly ananti-satellite weapon.[3]
On 9 October 2019,Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) launched fromBaikonur Cosmodrome inKazakhstan on aProton-Mlaunch vehicle. Its mission is to dock with Intelsat 901 and extend its operational lifespan by performingstation-keeping for the aging satellite.[4] Before the docking of MEV-1 and Intelsat 901, ground controllers transitioned customers off of Intelsat 901 and moved the satellite to agraveyard orbit in December 2019 so thatIntelsat 37e could use its orbital slot.
Docking occurred on 25 February 2020 at 07:15 UTC. MEV-1 rendezvoused with Intelsat 901, reached out with mechanical fingers, and grabbed the target craft using its liquid propellant engine as a grapple point to pull the two satellites together.[5] Over the next two months,Northrop Grumman and satellite prime contractorSpace Systems/Loral performed tests on the satellites' systems before using MEV-1 to lower Intelsat 901 back to the geosynchronous arc at 27.5° West (332.5° East) orbital longitude, where it will remain for five years.[6]
On 17 April 2020, Intelsat and Northrop Grumman announced that Intelsat 901 had officially returned to operational service on 2 April 2020 at its new orbital longitude. The satellite replacesIntelsat 907, a 17-year-old satellite now four years past its design life. After five years, MEV-1 will move Intelsat 901 back to a final graveyard orbit and release it before moving to another potential client.[7][8]
