0°00′N120°04′W / 0°N 120.07°W /0; -120.07
 Astronauts working on Intelsat 603 duringSTS-49 | |
| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | Intelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 1990-021A[1] |
| SATCATno. | 20523[1] |
| Mission duration | 13 years (planned) 23 years (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | HS-389 |
| Manufacturer | Hughes[2] |
| Launch mass | 4,215 kilograms (9,292 lb)[2] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 March 1990, 11:52:31 (1990-03-14UTC11:52:31Z) UTC |
| Rocket | CT-III/Orbus-21S CT-2[3] |
| Launch site | Cape CanaveralLC-40[3] |
| Contractor | Martin Marietta |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Decommissioned |
| Deactivated | January 2013 (2013-02) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Perigee altitude | 35,776 kilometres (22,230 mi)[4] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,797 kilometres (22,243 mi)[4] |
| Inclination | 0.3 degrees[4] |
| Period | 1436.09 minutes[4] |
| Epoch | 10 September 1990[4] |
Intelsat 603 orIS-603, previously namedIntelsat VI F-3, is acommunications satellite operated byIntelsat. Launched in 1990, it was the second of fiveIntelsat VI satellites to be launched. The Intelsat VI series was constructed byHughes Aircraft, based on theHS-389satellite bus.[2]
Intelsat 603 was launched at 11:52:31 UTC on 14 March 1990, atop aCommercial Titan III carrier rocket, flight number CT-2, with anOrbus-21S upper stage.[2][3] The launch took place fromLaunch Complex 40 at theCape Canaveral Air Force Station,[5] and was intended to place Intelsat 603 into ageosynchronous transfer orbit. The Orbus-21S failed to separate from the Titan's second stage, and as a result it was unable to fire, leaving Intelsat 603 inlow Earth orbit.
Following the launch failure, Intelsat commissionedNASA to launch a replacementperigee motor to raise the satellite's orbit. During its maiden flight,STS-49, in 1992Space Shuttle Endeavour rendezvoused with and captured Intelsat 603, and astronauts attached a new Orbus-21S to the satellite.[6] This motor successfully raised the satellite into the planned transfer orbit.
The satellite raised itself into its finalgeostationary orbit using two liquid-fuelledR-4D-12 engines,[2] with the satellite arriving in geostationary orbit on 21 May 1992.[7]
Intelsat 603 operated in a geostationary orbit with aperigee of 35,776 kilometres (22,230 mi), anapogee of 35,797 kilometres (22,243 mi), and 0.3 degrees ofinclination.[4] The satellite carried 38 IEEEC band and ten IEEEKu bandtransponders, and had a design life of 13 years and a mass of 4,215 kilograms (9,292 lb).[2]
Upon arrival in geostationary orbit, Intelsat 603 was placed at a longitude of 34.5 degrees west. It remained there until October 1997, when it was moved to 24.5 degrees west, arriving in November. In August 2002 it was relocated to 19.95 degrees west, where it operated until March 2010. Finally from May 2010 it operated at 11.5 degrees east until it was removed from geostationary orbit in January 2013.[8]
Intelsat confirmed in February 2015 that Intelsat 603 had been retired to agraveyard orbit.[9]
