| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | SES |
| COSPAR ID | 1995-055A |
| SATCAT no. | 23686 |
| Website | https://www.ses.com/ |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned) 19 years, 8 months (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Boeing 601 |
| Bus | HS-601 |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Space and Communications |
| Launch mass | 3,014 kg (6,645 lb) |
| Power | 4.7 kW |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 19 October 1995, 00:38:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 42L H10-3 (V79) |
| Launch site | Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-2 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Entered service | December 1995 |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated | June 2015 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | 19.2° East (1995-2007) 23.5° East (2007-2010) 5.2° East (2010-2012) 108.2° East (2012-2014) 31.5° East (2014-2015) 23° East (2015) |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 18 Ku-band |
| Bandwidth | FSS: 26 Mhz BSS: 33 MHz |
| Coverage area | Europe |
Astra 1E is one of the Astra communications satellites in geostationary orbit owned and operated by SES. It was launched in October 1995 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot initially to provide digital television and radio for direct-to-home (DTH) across Europe.
Astra 1E was the first Astra satellite to be dedicated to digital television broadcasting and it carried many of the first digital television channels from networks broadcasting to France, Germany, and other European countries in the 1990s.[citation needed]
The satellite originally provided two broadcast beams, of horizontal and vertical polarisation, for Fixed Service Satellite (FSS) (10.70-10.95 GHz) and for Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) (11.70-12.10 GHz) frequency bands. The FSS beams provide footprints that cover essentially the same area of Europe – northern, central and eastern Europe, including Spain and northern Italy – while the BSS horizontal beam excludes Spain and extends further east, and the BSS vertical beam includes Spain and more of southern Italy but does not extend so far east.[2] Within the footprints, television signals are usually received with a 60–80 cm dish.
- ^ "ASTRA 1E". N2YO.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ "Astra 1E". SES ASTRA. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.