APSTAR

APSTAR
source
Name	APSTAR
Country	People's Republic of China
Operator	APT Satellite Company
Status	Active
Orbital region	Geostationary orbit
Spacecraft type	Communications satellites
First launched	1994

APSTAR APSTAR is a family of geostationary communications satellites providing telecommunication, broadcasting, and data relay services across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. The system connects broadcasters, telephony providers, satellite news agencies, and maritime users through transponders and Ku/Ka/C-band payloads while interfacing with ground networks, teleport facilities, and maritime terminals. APSTAR satellites operate alongside international constellations and coordinate with agencies for orbital slots, frequency assignments, and regulatory compliance.

Introduction

APSTAR serves commercial and governmental customers using transponder capacity and managed services from geostationary slots coordinated with the International Telecommunication Union and satellite operators such as Intelsat, Eutelsat, SES S.A., Telesat, Viasat, Inc., Inmarsat, Iridium Communications, OneWeb Satellites, SpaceX's Starlink, China Satellite Communications, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The fleet supports broadcasters like BBC, CNN, NHK, CCTV, Al Jazeera, France Télévisions and corporate media platforms including Tencent, Alibaba Group, Baidu, Amazon (company), and Microsoft. APSTAR capacity interoperates with cable operators such as Comcast, Liberty Global, Sky Group, and regional carriers including NTT Docomo, SoftBank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, China Mobile, and China Telecom.

History and Development

Development began in the early 1990s amid cooperation between Chinese aerospace firms and international manufacturers, coinciding with launches by agencies such as Arianespace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Roscosmos, Antrix Corporation, and contractors like Thales Alenia Space and Mitsubishi Electric. The program evolved through partnerships with investors and markets involving Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China and corporate actors like AsiaSat, Hughes Network Systems, PanAmSat, DirecTV Group, EchoStar Corporation, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. APSTAR's milestones paralleled developments at ITU World Radiocommunication Conference, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and procurement trends influenced by World Trade Organization frameworks.

Satellite Fleet

The APSTAR fleet includes multiple spacecraft built to various bus standards, with payloads comparable to platforms by SSL (Maxar Technologies), Airbus Defence and Space, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and China Academy of Space Technology. Individual satellites host Ku-band and C-band transponders used by broadcasters like Sky News, Fox Broadcasting Company, HBO, and multicast clients such as Discovery, Inc., Warner Bros., ViacomCBS, and streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and TikTok. The fleet provides redundancy and in-orbit spares to maintain continuity for clients including World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, ASEAN Secretariat, European Commission, and national broadcasters like Doordarshan, KBS (Korean Broadcasting System), NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and SBS (Korea).

Services and Coverage

Services encompass direct-to-home broadcasting used by providers such as Dish Network, Sky UK, Canal+, corporate VSAT networks for FedEx, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, and mobile maritime connectivity for fleets managed by Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. Enterprise data backhaul serves multinationals Siemens, General Electric, Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, Panasonic, and Samsung. Coverage overlays with regional schemes like APEC, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), SAARC, Gulf Cooperation Council, and continental services referenced by European Space Agency programs and regional regulators such as Ofcom, Federal Communications Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (China), and National Telecommunications Commission (Philippines).

Ground Segment and Operations

The ground segment comprises teleports, network operation centers, and teleport partners including Telehouse, Equinix, Packet Clearing House, Intelsat Teleport Services, SES Teleport Services, and regional hubs like Hong Kong Science Park, Shenzhen Hi-tech Industrial Park, Beijing Central Business District, Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, and Dubai Internet City. Operations coordinate with satellite control entities like Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, Xi'an Satellite Control Center, regional control centers affiliated with China Satellite Communications and commercial operations integrating with terrestrial cloud providers Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and content delivery networks such as Akamai Technologies. Security and frequency management align with standards followed by ETSI, IEEE, and 3GPP for mobile backhaul.

Launches and Partnerships

APSTAR launches have used vehicles and services from providers including Long March (rocket family), Arianespace Ariane 4, Arianespace Ariane 5, Sea Launch, International Launch Services, SpaceX Falcon 9, Roscosmos Proton-M, and launch facilities like Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Guiana Space Centre, Baikonur Cosmodrome, and Kennedy Space Center. Manufacturing, insurance, and finance involved collaborators such as Munich Re, Allianz, Marsh & McLennan, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and international contractors like Samsung Techwin, NEC Corporation, and Hitachi.

Incidents and Anomalies

The program experienced anomalies similar to incidents affecting peers such as failures noted in Intelsat 29e, Telstar 401, Galaxy 15, and Nimiq 6, with on-orbit troubleshooting involving thermal control teams, reaction wheel recovery processes, and transponder reconfiguration in coordination with regulators like ITU and insurers like Lloyd's of London. Contingency operations have referenced emergency relocation procedures used in responses by Eutelsat 70B and Inmarsat-4 incidents, and operational lessons align with satellite anomaly reports filed to agencies such as China National Space Administration and international industry bodies like Space Data Association.

Category:Communications satellites