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Intelsat IV-A (F3) Press Kit
Intelsat IV-A (F3) Press Kit
Space Administration
Washington. D C.20546
AC 202 755-8370
Press Kit
RELEASE NO: 77-250
Contents
GENERAL RELEASE................................... 1-3
SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTION............................ 4
CONTRACTORS............................~.....~~.. 11
INTELSAT IV-A COVERAGE FOR INDIAN OCEAN REGION.... 12
Mailed:
December 16, 1977
N/\sA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Washington D C 20546
AC 202 755-8370
Fc jr Release
David Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. IMMEDIATE
(Phone: 202/755-3090)
Dick McCormack
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/755-8487)
Linda Peterson
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
(Phone: 216/433-4000 Ext. 415)
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. ,. - . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . _.
Intelsat IV-A(F3)satellite will be placed in ueostationary
orbit over the Indian Ocean at 6 3 degrees East longitude,
where it will provide international communications services
to some 4 0 countries in the Indian Ocean region. The satel-
lite has a seven year design life and the capacity to relay
more than 6,090 simultaneous telephone calls and two tele-
vision programs.
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SPACECRAFT DESCRIPTTON
The I n t e l s a t IV-A s p a c e c r a f t h a s an o v e r a l l h e i g h t of
7 m ( 2 3 f t . ) and a d i a m e t e r o f 2 . 4 m ( 8 f t . ) . The h e i g h t
o f t h e s o l a r p a n e l i s 2.8 m ( 9 f t . ) . L i f t o f f weight i s
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 , 5 1 1 kg ( 3 , 3 3 2 l b . ) , and i n - o r b i t w e i g h t
a f t e r apogee motor f i r i n g i s 825.5 kg ( 1 , 8 2 0 lh.).
Although i t h a s t h e same b a s i c s t r u c t u r a l d e s i g n a s
i t s p r e d e c e s s o r , I n t e l s a t I V , t h e I n t e l s a t IV-A s p a c e c r a f t
i n c o r p o r a t e s new a n t e n n a t e c h n o l o g y t o y i e l d a b o u t 6,250
two-way v o i c e c i r c u i t s p l u s t w o t e l e v i s i o n c h a n n e l s i n t h e
system c o n f i q u r a t i o n i n which i t w i l l b e used. This i s
t w o - t h i r d s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e communications c a p a c i t y of t h e
of t h e I n t e l s a t I V series s a t e l l i t e . The i n c r e a s e d c a p a c i t y
i s made p o s s i b l e by a new a n t e n n a d e s i g n which p r o v i d e s
coverage of l a n d m a n s e s on b o t h s i d e s of t h e A t l a n t i c b a s i n ,
u s i n g shaped beams. The e a s t e r n and w e s t e r n beams are s u f -
f i c i e n t l y i s o l a t e d t o a l l o w t h e f r e q u e n c y spectrum t o be
used t w i c e -- once i n t h e e a s t and once i n t h e w e s t d i r e c t i o n
-- t h u s d o u b l i n g t h e u s e of t h e f r e q u e n c y spectrum and i n -
c r e a s i n g t h e communications c a p a c i t y of t h e s a t e l l i t e .
S i n c e t h a t t i m e , b o t h t h e A t l a s b o o s t e r and C e n t a u r
second s t a g e have undergone many improvements. A t present,
t h e v e h i c l e combination c a n p l a c e 4,536 kg ( 1 0 , 0 0 0 l b . ) i n
low E a r t h o r b i t , 1,882 kg (4,159 l b . ) i n a synchronous t r a n s -
f e r o r b i t and 9 0 7 kg ( 2 , 0 0 9 l b . ) on a n i n t e r p l a n e t a r y
trajectory.
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LAUNCH OPERATIONS
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TYPICAL LAUNCH SEQUENCE F O R I N T E L S A T IV-A
Earth Relative
Program T i m e Velocity Range Altitude
F 1igh t E v e n t s (Seconds) (Km/Hr Mph 1 Kilome ters/Miles K i l o m e ters/Miles
Liftoff rl 0 n 0 0 0 0
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NASA H e a d q u a r t e r s
J o s e p h B. Mahon D i r e c t o r o f Launch V e h i c l e
and P r o p u l s i o n Programs
F. R. Schmidt Manager, A t l a s C e n t a u r
L e w i s Research C e n t e r
Kennedy Space C e n t e r
L e e R. Scherer Director
C r e i g h t o n A. Terhune Chief E n g i n e e r , A t l a s C e n t a u r
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COMSAT
Dr. Joseph V. Charyk President
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MADAGASCAR' LAURITIUS