Ekspress-A3

Ekspress-A3 (Russian: Экспрeсс-А3 meaning Express-A3), also designated Ekspress-3A, is a Russian communications satellite which is operated by Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) and EUTELSAT.^[1]

Ekspress-A3

Names	Экспрeсс-А3 Express-A3 Ekspress-A No.3 Ekspress-3A
Mission type	Communication
Operator	Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) / Eutelsat Communications
COSPAR ID	2000-031A
SATCAT no.	26378
Website	<br%20/>https://www.eutelsat.com/en/home.html eng.rscc.ru/<br%20/>https://www.eutelsat.com/en/home.html
Mission duration	7 years (planned) 9 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Ekspress-A3
Spacecraft type	KAUR
Bus	MSS-2500-GSO
Manufacturer	NPO PM (bus) Alcatel Space (payload)
Launch mass	2,600 kg (5,700 lb)
Power	2540 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	24 June 2000, 00:28:00 UTC
Rocket	Proton-K / DM-2M
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 200/39
Contractor	Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
Entered service	August 2000
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	September 2009
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	11° West (2000–2009)
Transponders
Band	17 transponders: 12 C-band 5 Ku-band
Coverage area	Europe, Middle East, North Africa, Russia
Ekspress constellation ← Ekspress-A2 Ekspress-A1R →

Satellite description

It was constructed by NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki (ISS Reshetnev) and Alcatel Space and is based on the MSS-2500-GSO satellite bus. It is equipped with seventeen transponders.^[2]

Launch

The satellite was launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 200 on 24 June 2000, at 00:28:00 UTC. The launch was made by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, and a Proton-K / DM-2M launch vehicle was used.^[3]

Mission

It is part of the Ekspress satellite constellation. Following its launch and on-orbit testing, it was placed in geostationary orbit at 11° West, from where it provides communications services to Russia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.^[4]