| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | Hughes |
| COSPAR ID | 1983-065A |
| SATCAT no. | 14158 |
| Mission duration | 9 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | HS-376 |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
| Dry mass | 1218 kg |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 June 1983, 22:08:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta-3920 / PAM-D |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated | 1994 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Geostationary orbit |
| Longitude | 169.0° West |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 24 C-band |
| Coverage area | United States |
Galaxy 1 was the first in a line of Galaxy communications satellites launched by Hughes Communications in 1983.
It helped fill a hole in satellite broadcasting bandwidth created by the loss of RCA's Satcom 3 in 1979.[1] Unlike satellite owners RCA and Western Union, Hughes did not lease time on their transponders in the fashion of a common carrier, but instead sold transponders outright to content providers. This created a stable lineup of content attractive enough for cable providers to dedicate Earth station receivers to it full-time.[2]
Among the services on Galaxy 1 by mid-1984: HBO, Cinemax, The Movie Channel, Showtime, The Disney Channel, TBS, CNN, ESPN, and The Nashville Network.[2]
- ^ "RCA Loses Contact with New Satellite". New York Times. 11 December 1979. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b "After 10 Years of Satellite, the Sky's No Limit" (PDF). Broadcasting. 9 April 1984. p. 44. Retrieved 13 June 2015.