Galaxy (satellite)

For the prototype space station, see Galaxy (spacecraft). For other uses, see Galaxy 2 (disambiguation).

Galaxy
ManufacturerHughes Aircraft Company,
Boeing Satellite Systems,
Orbital Sciences Corporation,
Space Systems/Loral,
Alcatel Alenia,
Northrop Grumman
Country of originUnited States
OperatorINTELSAT
ApplicationsCommunications
Specifications
BusHS-376, HS-601, BSS-702,
STAR-2, SSL 1300, GEOStar-3
RegimeGeostationary orbit
Production
StatusIn service
Launched39
Operational21
Retired14
Failed3
Maiden launch28 June 1983
Last launch3 August 2023

The Galaxy series is a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by Hughes Communications. It has since merged with PanAmSat and is now owned and operated by Intelsat. As one of the earliest geostationary satellites, Galaxy 1 was launched on 28 June 1983. The latest one, Galaxy 37, was launched on 3 August 2023.

Satellite Manufacturer Launch Vehicle Launch Date Launch Site State Orbital position Notes
Galaxy 1 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta (3920) 28 June 1983 Cape Canaveral, LC-17B Retired on 1 May 1994 141.0° West
Galaxy 1R Hughes Aircraft Company Atlas I 22 August 1992 Cape Canaveral, LC-36B Launch failure —
Galaxy 1R2 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta II (7925-8) 19 February 1994 Cape Canaveral, LC-17B Retired on 7 March 2006 105.0° West Also called Galaxy 1RR
Galaxy 2 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta (3920) 22 September 1983 Cape Canaveral, LC-17A Retired in May 1994 43.0° West
Galaxy 3 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta (3920) 21 September 1984 Cape Canaveral, LC-17B Retired in October 1995 38.0° West
Galaxy 3R Hughes Aircraft Company Atlas 2A 15 December 1995 Cape Canaveral, LC-36A Failed in orbit in March 2006 129.0° West
Galaxy 3C Hughes Aircraft Company Zenit-3SL 15 June 2002 Sea Launch Active 95.0° West
Galaxy 4 Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 42P+ 25 June 1993 Kourou, ELA-2 Failed in orbit in May 1998 78.0° East
Galaxy 4R Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 42L 19 April 2000 Kourou, ELA-2 Retired in July 2006 164.0° East
Galaxy 5 Hughes Aircraft Company Atlas I 14 March 1992 Cape Canaveral, LC-36B Retired in January 2005 176.0° East
Galaxy 6 Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 4L 12 October 1990 Kourou, ELA-2 Retired in February 2003 145.0° West
Galaxy 7 Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 42P+ 28 October 1992 Kourou, ELA-2 Failure in orbit in November 2000 96.0° West
Galaxy 8i Hughes Aircraft Company Atlas 2AS 8 December 1997 Cape Canaveral, LC-36B Retired in October 2002 30.0° East
Galaxy 8iR Hughes Aircraft Company Zenit-3SL — — — — Cancelled[1]
Galaxy 9 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta II (7925) 23 May 1996 Cape Canaveral, LC-17B Retired 176.0° West
Galaxy 10 Hughes Aircraft Company Delta III 8930 27 August 1998 Cape Canaveral, LC-17B Launch failure —
Galaxy 10R Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 42L 25 January 2000 Kourou, ELA-2 Retired in June 2008 175.0° West
Galaxy 11 Hughes Aircraft Company Ariane 44L 22 December 1999 Kourou, ELA-2 Active 44.0° East
Galaxy 12 Orbital Sciences Corporation Ariane 5 G 9 April 2003 Kourou, ELA-3 Active 129.0° West With INSAT-3A
Galaxy 13 Hughes Aircraft Company Zenit-3SL 1 October 2003 Sea Launch Active 127.0° West Horizons-1
Galaxy 14 Orbital Sciences Corporation Soyuz-FG 13 August 2005 Baikonur, Site 31/6 Active 125.0° West
Galaxy 15 Orbital Sciences Corporation Ariane 5 GS 13 October 2005 Kourou, ELA-3 Active (failure in orbit in April 2010, resolved in 2011) 133.0° West Launched join with Syracuse 3A
Galaxy 16 Space Systems/Loral Zenit-3SL 18 June 2006 Sea Launch Active 99.0° West
Galaxy 17 Alcatel Alenia Space Ariane 5 ECA 4 May 2007 Kourou, ELA-3 Active 91.0° West Launched with Astra 1L
Galaxy 18 Space Systems/Loral Zenit-3SL 21 May 2008 Sea Launch Active 123.0° West
Galaxy 19 Space Systems/Loral Zenit-3SL 24 September 2008 Sea Launch Active 97.0° West Ex-Intelsat Americas 9 (IA 9)
Galaxy 23 Space Systems/Loral Zenit-3SL 8 August 2003 Sea Launch Active 121.0° West Ex-Telstar 13
Galaxy 25 Space Systems/Loral Proton-K 24 May 1997 Baikonur, Site 81/23 Active 93.0° West Ex-Telstar 5
Galaxy 26 Space Systems/Loral Proton-K 15 February 1999 Baikonur, Site 81/23 Retired on 7 June 2014 31.0° West Ex-Telstar 6
Galaxy 27 Space Systems/Loral Ariane 4 25 September 1999 Kourou, ELA-2 Active 109.0° East Ex-Telstar 7
Galaxy 28 Space Systems/Loral Zenit-3SL 23 June 2005 Sea Launch,
Pacific Ocean 		Active 89.0° West Ex-Intelsat Americas 8 (IA 8)
Galaxy 30 Northrop Grumman Ariane 5 ECA 15 August 2020 Kourou, ELA-3 Active 125.0° West Launched with MEV-2 and BSAT-4b
Galaxy 31 Maxar Technologies Falcon 9 Block 5 12 November 2022 Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 Active 121.0° West Launched with Galaxy 32
Galaxy 32 Maxar Technologies Falcon 9 Block 5 12 November 2022 Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 Active 91.0° West Launched with Galaxy 31
Galaxy 33 Northrop Grumman Falcon 9 Block 5 8 October 2022 Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 Active 133.0° West Launched with Galaxy 34
Galaxy 34 Northrop Grumman Falcon 9 Block 5 8 October 2022 Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 Active 129.0° West Launched with Galaxy 33
Galaxy 35 Maxar Technologies Ariane 5 ECA 13 December 2022 Kourou, ELA-3 Active 95.0° West Launched with Galaxy 36 and MTG-I1
Galaxy 36 Maxar Technologies Ariane 5 ECA 13 December 2022 Kourou, ELA-3 Active 89.0° West Launched with Galaxy 35 and MTG-I1
Galaxy 37 Maxar Technologies Falcon 9 Block 5 3 August 2023 Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 Active 127.0° West Also known as Horizons-4

References

  1. ^ On 15 November 2002, PanAmSat terminated its contract with Boeing Satellite Systems for the Galaxy 8iR satellite that was almost completed, claiming that Boeing did not comply with the terms of the contract, and requested US$72 million from Boeing to repay previous advances and other costs. The satellite was later converted to the ProtoStar 2 satellite, which was released in 2009, and was acquired that same year by SES which renamed it to SES-7.

External sources