Lockheed Martin-Built JCSAT-13 satellite begins service for SKY Perfect JSAT

Technology Jul. 11, 2012 - 05:56AM JST ( 2 )

NEWTOWN, Pa —

The JCSAT-13 telecommunications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for SKY Perfect JSAT of Japan, is now ready for service following successful on-orbit deployment and checkout of all spacecraft systems.

JCSAT-13 is required to meet a 15-year design life and is located at 124 degrees east longitude. 

JCSAT-13 carries an all Ku-band payload comprising 44 high-power communication channels with uplink and downlink coverage over Japan, Indonesia, the Middle and Near East, Southwest Asia and Oceania. Two additional steerable antennas provide coverage for new and emerging markets as well as quick response coverage, spanning the Earth to quickly cover a specific geographic region and, depending on capacity requirements, provide multiple transponders in each steerable beam. Extensive on-board switching allows for payload reconfiguration capability on orbit, efficiently using the frequency plan.

“We are pleased that JCSAT-13 is successfully handed over from Lockheed Martin to SKY Perfect JSAT today,” said SKY Perfect JSAT President Shinji Takada. “JCSAT-13’s 44 Ku-band transponders, Japan beam, Southeast Asia beam, and two steerable beams provide extensive coverage over Asia and Oceania and support the SKY PerfecTV! domestic direct-to-home service as the replacement satellite for JCSAT-4A. By making full use of JCSAT-13, SKY Perfect JSAT intends to boost our global businesses in new and emerging markets.”

JCSAT-13, based on Lockheed Martin’s highly reliable A2100 platform, is the seventh A2100 satellite Lockheed Martin has delivered to SKY Perfect JSAT. Lockheed Martin successfully built JCSAT-9 through JCSAT-12, JCSAT-110 and BSAT-3c/JCSAT-110R, which was procured jointly with the Broadcast Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT).

“JCSAT-13 is the 100th commercial geostationary satellite Lockheed Martin has delivered to customers around the globe,” said Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems President Joseph Rickers. “We are extremely proud to share this milestone with SKY Perfect JSAT, one of our most trusted and valued business partners for over a decade. As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lockheed Martin, we remain committed to providing our customers with world-class, high-performing and cost-effective satellite solutions for years to come.”

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