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Information about Westar

Westar was the name for the fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, five of them launched and operating under the Westar name.

Background

Westar 1 (launched on April 13, 1974) has the distinction of being the USA's first commercially launched geosynchronous communications satellite, following North America's first geosynchronous communications satellite, Canada's Anik A1 in 1972. Westar 1 was put into orbit at 99° W in the Clarke belt (99° W now being the home of Galaxy 16).

Westar 2 was launched shortly afterward on October 10, 1974, and Westar 3 was launched on August 10, 1979. Westars 1, 2 and 3 were built by Hughes using the HS-333 platform of spin-scan stabilized satellites. They only had 12 transponders onboard, as opposed to later C-band communications satellites having 24.

The later Westar 4 (launched on February 26, 1982) and Westar 5 (launched on June 9, 1982) satellites, were based on the Hughes HS-376 platform, and had 24 transponders available, as opposed to the 12 on Westars 1, 2, and 3.

Westar 6, also a HS-376 based satellite, was launched on February 3, 1984, and to be put into service afterward, but the perigee kick motor (also known as the Payload Assist Module, or PAM) on the satellite during its approach to geosynchronous orbit failed, placing it at an improper and inoperable low Earth orbit. It was retrieved on November 16, 1984, by the STS-51A mission of NASA's Space Shuttle, where it was brought back to earth and refurbished. It was then resold to China, and relaunched on April 7, 1990, as AsiaSat 1. The Space Shuttle mission to retrieve Westar 6, as well as the Palapa B2 satellite which shared the launch payload with Westar 6, was funded by the insurance companies that insured the launch of those two satellites.

An on-ground spare satellite to Westar 6, Westar 6S, was in development by Western Union and Hughes when Western Union decided to divest themselves of their telecommunications-based assets starting in the early 1980s after suffering heavy financial losses. This resulted in Western Union selling the Westar satellite fleet and operations to Hughes in 1988.

Hughes then finished development of Westar 6S, and renamed it Galaxy 6. Modifications were made to it, and Galaxy 6 was launched on October 12, 1990.

Hughes later launched the Galaxy 4 and 5 satellites to replace Westar 4 and 5 respectively, after the latter satellites reached the end of their useful life.

Uplink sites for Westar

During the life of the Westar fleet, Western Union operated these dedicated uplink sites (now defunct, unless noted) for Westar:

External links

A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period matching the Earth's sidereal rotation period. This synchronization means that for an observer at a fixed location on Earth, a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly the same place in the sky
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communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits
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C band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies ranging from 4 to 8 GHz.[1]. It was the first frequency band allocated for commercial ground-to-satellite communications. A typical C-band satellite uses 3.7–4.
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The Western Union Company

Public (NYSE:  WU )
Founded 1851
Headquarters Greenwood Village, Colorado

Industry Aiding products = Financial services
Revenue $3 billion USD (2005)
Website westernunion.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1971 1972 1973 - 1974 - 1975 1976 1977

Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV
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20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1981 1982 1983 - 1984 - 1985 1986 1987

Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV
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Westar 1 was the first commercially-launched American geosynchronous communications satellite, launched by Western Union and NASA on April 13, 1974. It was built by Hughes for Western Union, using the HS-333 platform of spin-stabilized satellites.
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April 13 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

It is also the Ides (middle day) of April.

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  • 1055 - Victor II is consecrated pope.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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1971 1972 1973 - 1974 - 1975 1976 1977

Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV
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This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved.
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The Anik satellites are geostationary communications satellites launched by Telesat Canada for television in Canada. In Inuit Anik means "little brother".

The Satellites


Name Satellite type Launched Retired Launch vehicle
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1969 1970 1971 - 1972 - 1973 1974 1975

Year 1972 (MCMLXXII
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A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth's equator (0° latitude), with orbital eccentricity of zero. From the ground, a geostationary object appears motionless in the sky and is therefore the orbit of most interest to operators
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October 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1971 1972 1973 - 1974 - 1975 1976 1977

Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV
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August 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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1976 1977 1978 - 1979 - 1980 1981 1982

Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins.

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Hughes Aircraft Company was a major aerospace and defense company founded by Howard Hughes. The group was based near Ballona Creek, in Culver City, California, USA, on the Pacific Coast.

Hughes Aircraft was acquired by General Motors in 1985.
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transponder (short-for Transmitter-responder and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR, XPNDR or TPDR) has the following meanings:
  • An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency (see also broadcast translator).

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C band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies ranging from 4 to 8 GHz.[1]. It was the first frequency band allocated for commercial ground-to-satellite communications. A typical C-band satellite uses 3.7–4.
..... Click the link for more information.
communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits
..... Click the link for more information.
February 26 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era.

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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1979 1980 1981 - 1982 - 1983 1984 1985

Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII
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June 9 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1979 1980 1981 - 1982 - 1983 1984 1985

Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII
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transponder (short-for Transmitter-responder and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR, XPNDR or TPDR) has the following meanings:
  • An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency (see also broadcast translator).

..... Click the link for more information.
Westar was the name for the fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, five of them launched and operating under the Westar name.
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February 3 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1981 1982 1983 - 1984 - 1985 1986 1987

Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV
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PAM (Payload Assist Module) is a modular upper stage operated with solid propellant, used with Space Shuttle, Delta, and Titan launchers. The rocket was used to carry satellites from a low earth orbit to a geostationary transfer orbit or an interplanetary course.
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