DFS Kopernikus-3

DFS Kopernikus-3 (or Deutscher Fernmelde Satellit-3 and Hellas Sat 1) was a communications satellite operated by Deutsche Telekom.

DFS Kopernikus-3

Names	Deutscher Fernmelde Satellit-3 Hellas Sat 1
Mission type	Communications
Operator	Deutsche Bundespost → Deutsche Telekom / Hellas Sat
COSPAR ID	1992-066A
SATCAT no.	22175
Website	https://www.telekom.com/en
Mission duration	10 years (planned) 10 years 4 months (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	GESAT-Bus
Manufacturer	MBB Dornier Systems Siemens ANT Nachrichtentechnik Standard Elektrik Lorenz
Launch mass	1,415 kg (3,120 lb)
Dry mass	850 kg (1,870 lb)
Power	1.5 kW
Start of mission
Launch date	12 October 1992, 09:47:00 UTC
Rocket	Delta II 7925 (s/n D215)
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, LC-17B
Contractor	McDonnell Douglas
Entered service	December 1992
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	February 2003
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[1]
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	23.5° East (1992–2003)
Transponders
Band	11 transponders: 10 Ku-band 1 Ka-band
Coverage area	Germany
DFS Kopernicus constellation ← DFS Kopernicus-2

Satellite description

The DFS Kopernikus series of satellites debuted in 1989 with the third being launched in 1992. Ordered in 1983 and produced by the GESAT consortium of MBB (flight segment prime contractor), Siemens (overall prime contractor), ANT Nachrichtentechnik (payload), Standard Elektrik Lorenz (digital switching equipment), and Dornier Systems (ground control system), DFS spacecraft are smaller than TV-Sat: on-station mass is 850 kg with a 15.4 m solar array span providing up to 1.5 kW of electrical power. The satellite also used a propulsion system S400.^[2]

The communications payload includes ten 14/11-12 GHz transponders with five spares and one experimental 30/20 GHz transponder with one spare. At the end of 1994, DFS 1-3 were stationed at 33.5° East, 28.5° East, and 23.5° East, respectively. Like TV-Sat, the DFS Kopernikus series has been concluded.

Hellas Sat 1

DFS 3 was leased to the Greek company Hellas Sat in 2002 as a stop-gap measure. It was retired in February 2003.

Launch

DFS-Kopernikus 3 was launched by a Delta II launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, United States, at 09:47:00 UTC on 12 October 1992.^[3]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• 1992 in spaceflight