Intelsat 901

Intelsat 901 (IS-901) was the first of 9 new Intelsat satellites launched in June 2001 at 342°E, providing Ku-band spot beam coverage for Europe, as well as C-band coverage for the Atlantic Ocean region, and provides features such as selectable split uplink for SNG, tailored for increased communications demands such as DTH and Internet.

Satellite

• Increased power – IS-901 is designed to provide up to 5 dB for downlink e.i.r.p., and up to 1.8 dB for G/T over the IS-VII satellites.
• Increased Capacity – With over 72 C-band 36 MHz equivalent unit transponders, IS-901 provides a significant increase in capacity over the previous satellite at 342°E.
• Improved Coverage – IS-901 provides significantly expanded zone coverage. The Ku-band spot beams also include more area within each zone.

Encounter with Russian Olymp satellite

On 9 October 2015, Spacenews.com reported^[1] that in April 2015, the Russian satellite Olymp-K had moved to within 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of Intelsat 901 and the nearby Intelsat 7, causing concerns of a safety-of-flight incident. Attempts by Intelsat to contact the Russian satellite's operators were not successful, and no reason for the satellite's movement was given by the Russian government. The move sparked classified meetings within the Department of Defense and heightened suspicions that that Olymp-K satellite was performing signals intelligence, or was possibly an anti-satellite weapon.

Specifications

• Total Transponders: Ku-Band: up to 22 (in equiv. 36 MHz units)
• Polarization: Ku-Band: Linear - Horizontal or Vertical
• Uplink Frequency: Ku-Band: 14.00 to 14.50 GHz
• Downlink Frequency: Ku-Band: 10.95 to 11.20 GHz and 11.45 to 11.70 GHz
• G/T (Ku-Band) (Beam Peak): Spot 1: up to +9.0 dB/K, Spot 2: up to +9.0 dB/K
• SFD Range (Beam Edge): Ku-Band: -87.0 to -69.0 dBW/m²

References

External links

• Intelsat 901