Astra 1F

Astra 1F

Mission type	Communications
Operator	SES
COSPAR ID	1996-021A
SATCAT no.	23842
Website	https://www.ses.com/
Mission duration	15 years (planned) 24 years, 7 months (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Boeing 601
Bus	HS-601
Manufacturer	Hughes Space and Communications
Launch mass	3,010 kg (6,640 lb)
Power	4.7 kW
Start of mission
Launch date	8 April 1996, 23:09:01 UTC
Rocket	Proton-K / DM-2M
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 81/23
Contractor	Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Entered service	June 1996
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	November 2020
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[1]
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	Astra 19.2°E (1996-2009) 51°E (2009-20100 55°E (2010-2015) 44.5°E (2015-2020)
Transponders
Band	16 Ku-band
Bandwidth	FSS: 26 Mhz BSS: 33 MHz
Coverage area	Europe
Astra constellation ← Astra 1E Astra 1G →

Astra 1F is one of the Astra communications satellites in geostationary orbit owned and operated by SES. It was launched in April 1996 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot initially to provide digital television and radio for direct-to-home (DTH) across Europe.

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. Within the footprints, television signals are usually received with a 60–80 cm dish.^[2]