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Arab Satellite Communications Organization

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Arab Satellite Communications Organization
IndustrySatellite communications
Founded1976(1976)
HeadquartersRiyadh,Saudi Arabia
Owner
21 countries
Websitewww.arabsat

TheArab Satellite Communications Organization(often abbreviated asArabsat) is acommunications satelliteoperator in theArab World,headquartered in the city ofRiyadh,Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public and private telecommunications services to the Arab States, in accordance with International Standards. With 21 member countries, the organization plays a vital role of enhancing communications in the Arab World.[1]

TheArabsatsatellitesare a series ofgeostationarycommunications satelliteslaunched from 1985 through 2019. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired and arederelict.

History

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The foundation of Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) dates from the late 1960s. In 1967, information ministers of Arab states developed a series of principles in relation to a satellite network, to create an integration of social and cultural activities among theArab Leaguecountries. On the other hand, theArab States Broadcasting Union(ASBU) was established in 1969.Saudi Arabiadid not join this Egypt-led and Cairo-based union until 1974, most probably due to the tense relationship between Saudi Arabia andEgyptat the time.

On 14 April 1976, Arabsat was formed under Arab League jurisdiction with the goal of serving the information, cultural and educational needs of its member states. Saudi Arabia was the main financier of the new organization due to its expanded financial resources as a result of its flourishing oil-exporting industry.Riyadhhoused Arabsat's headquarters.

The first launchArabsat-1Awas performed by a French Ariane rocket. The AmericanSpace Shuttle Discoverylaunched Arabsat's second satellite,Arabsat-1B,in 1985. Arabsat-1A and -1B were switched off in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Shareholders

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Arab Leaguemembers and Arabsat shareholders

All Arab League states except forComorosare shareholders of Arabsat:[2]

Satellites

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Satellite Launch Date Launch Site Launcher Mass Status Note
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-1A 8 February 1985 European UnionELA-1Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane 3 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-1B 17 June 1985 United StatesLC-39AKennedy Space Center United StatesSpace Shuttle/PAM-D Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-1C 26 February 1992 European UnionELA-2Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane-44LP H10 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-1D 8 November 1984 United StatesLC-39AKennedy Space Center United StatesSpace Shuttle/PAM-D Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-1E 28 July 1983 United StatesSLC-17ACape Canaveral United StatesDelta 3920/PAM-D Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-2A 9 July 1996 European UnionELA-2Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane-44LP H10-3 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-2B 13 November 1996 European UnionELA-2Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane-44LP H10-3 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-2C (Badr C) 28 August 1997 KazakhstanSite 81/23Baikonur Cosmodrome RussiaProton-K/DM-03 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-2D (Badr-2) 9 October 1998 United StatesSLC-36BCape Canaveral United StatesAtlas-2A Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-3A (Badr-3) 26 February 1999 European UnionELA-2Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane-44LP H10-3 Decommissioned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-4A (Badr-1) 28 February 2006 KazakhstanSite 200/39Baikonur Cosmodrome RussiaProton-M/Briz-M Failed
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-4B (Badr-4) 8 November 2006 KazakhstanSite 200/39Baikonur Cosmodrome RussiaProton-M/Briz-M In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-4AR (Badr-6) 7 July 2008 European UnionELA-3Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane 5 ECA In Service Replacement Satellite forArabsat- 4A
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-5A 26 June 2010 European UnionELA-3Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane 5 ECA In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-5B (Badr-5) 3 June 2010 KazakhstanSite 200/39Baikonur Cosmodrome RussiaProton-M/Briz-M In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-5C 21 September 2011 European UnionELA-3Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane 5 ECA In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-6A 11 April 2019 United StatesLC-39AKennedy Space Center United StatesFalcon Heavy In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-6B (Badr-7) 10 November 2015 European UnionELA-3Guiana Space Centre European UnionAriane 5 ECA In Service
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-6C TBA United StatesTBA United StatesTBA Planned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-6D TBA United StatesTBA United StatesTBA Planned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-6E TBA United StatesTBA United StatesTBA Planned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-7A 2026 United StatesSLC-40Cape Canaveral United StatesFalcon 9 Block 5 Planned
Saudi ArabiaArabsat-7B (Badr-8) 27 May 2023 United StatesSLC-40Cape Canaveral United StatesFalcon 9 Block 5 In Service

Arabsat-1

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Arabsat-1was the model designator for a series of first-generation satellites built by an international team led byAérospatialeof France. It is a satellite with three-axis stabilizedSpacebus 100spacecraft with two deployable solar array wings, making it almost 68 ft (21 m) long and over 18 ft (5.5 m) wide when deployed in orbit. It weighs about 2,800 lb (1,300 kg) in its initial orbit, but some 1,490 lb (680 kg) of this is propellant. It has an onboard low-thrust motor that utilizes hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, and transfers from an initial elliptical to geosynchronous orbit by firing this motor. The remaining propellant is then used for station-keeping or moving over the life of the satellite.

Arabsat-1A,the first Arabsat satellite, was launched byArianeon 8 February 1985. Shortly after launch it suffered a solar panel extension malfunction. Coupled with other failures, the satellite was soon relegated to backup status until it was abandoned completely in late 1991.

Arabsat-1B,the second flight model, was deployed in June 1985, from theSpace Shuttle Discoveryon missionSTS-51-G,and placed into service near 26.0° east, and remained in operation until mid-1992.[3]

Arabsat-1C,the third satellite of the series, was launched by Ariane on 26 February 1992, as a stop-gap measure to maintain network services until the Arabsat second generation spacecraft became available.

Arabsat-1D,was renamed from theAnik-D2(a Hughes HS-376 bus originally carrying 24 active C-band transponders).

Arabsat-2

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By the end of 1994, the Arabsat system had been reduced to only one operational satellite.[4]A contract for two Arabsat second-generation satellites was signed with Aérospatiale in April 1993, to build several additional comsats based on theSpacebus 3000Aplatform.

Arabsat-2A,was launched on 9 July 1996.

Arabsat-2B,was launched on 13 November 1996.

Arabsat-2Cwas leased fromPAS-5in May 2002 and moved from the Western Hemisphere during November 2002 to a position at 26.0° E.

Arabsat-2Dwas leased fromHot Bird 5and moved from the position 13.0° E during November 2002 to a position at 26.0° E.

Arabsat-3

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On 7 November 1996, a contract was signed with Aérospatiale (Alcatel) to provide the first of the third-generation satellites, to be based on aSpacebus 3000B2platform.

Badr-3 (technically: Arabsat-3A), weighed 2,708 kilograms (5,970 lb) (at launch) and 1,646 kilograms (3,629 lb) (in orbit), was launched by alauncherAriane-44L(# 28) (V-116) fromELA-2atCentre Spatial Guyanaisat 26.0° East with a lifespan of 15 years, as the first satellite of the third generation, on 26 February 1999 at 22:44:00 UTC.[5]Half of its 20 transponders Kuwere switched off on 7 December 2001 after a solar-panel malfunction.

Arabsat-4

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Arabsat let a contract on 22 October 2003 for the manufacture and launch of the fourth generation of Arabsat satellites, based on the Astrium'sEurostar E2000+platform andAlcatel Spacepayload. The first of these,Arabsat-4A,was lost in space due toa launcher failure.[6][7][8]This led to the ordering ofBadr-6(technically: Arabsat-4AR) on 31 May 2006. The second fourth generation satellite, namedBadr-4(technically: Arabsat-4B), was launched on 8 November 2006. BADR-6 was launched on 7 July 2008 on anAriane 5,to replace the lost Arabsat-4A.[9]

Arabsat-5

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Arabsat let a contract on 16 June 2007 for the manufacture and launch of the fifth generation of Arabsat satellites, based on the Astrium'sEurostar E3000platform andThales Alenia Spacepayloads:

  • The first of the fifth-generation satellites, named Badr-5 (technically: Arabsat-5B), was launched by Proton at Arabsat's 26.0° East Direct-to-Home television "Hot Spot" on 3 June 2010.
  • The second of the fifth-generation satellites,Arabsat-5A,was launched by Ariane at the 30.5° East orbital location on 26 June 2010.[10]
  • The third of the fifth-generation satellites, Arabsat-5C, was launched to the new 20.0° East orbital location on 21 September 2011, on anAriane 5.[11]

Arabsat-6

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  • Badr-7 (Arabsat-6B) was launched successfully in tandem with GSat-15 on 10 November 2015 from the Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, atop anAriane 5launcher.
  • The launch ofArabsat-6Awith aFalcon Heavyrocket was on 11 April 2019.[12]

Arabsat-7

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Arabsat signed a contract on 29 April 2022 with Europe’sThales Alenia Space,which will build the Arabsat 7A satellite based on its Space Inspire platform. The satellite is Arabsat's first fully software-defined geostationary satellite and will provide coverage across the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe. It is expected to replace most of the existing C and Ku-band capacity at 30.5 East that is provided by Arabsat 5A and is approaching end-of-life.[13]

Arabsat 7B (Badr 8) launched on a Falcon 9 on May 27, 2023.[14]

Controversies

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In July 2019, some of the biggest football authorities that control thePremier League,World Cupand Champions League, called on the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabiato stop its homegrown piracy of TV and streaming service, illicitly broadcasting matches globally via Arabsat. Saudi was strongly criticized in a letter issued by sports bodies including,FIFA,UEFA,Spain'sLa Liga,Germany'sBundesligaand Italy'sSerie Aalong with theAsian Football Confederation.[15]The letter was issued after 18 months of failed efforts at legally challenging Saudi Arabia to blockbeoutQfor pirate broadcasting the entireWorld Cup 2018.[16]The authorities said in a joint statement, "We collectively condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing theft of our intellectual property by the pirate broadcaster known asbeoutQand call on the authorities in Saudi Arabia to support us in ending the widespread and flagrant breaches of our intellectual property rights ".

The sporting bodies have also accused nine Saudi Arabian legal firms of not taking on theircopyright infringementcase, following which the authorities are seeking to adopt other means for the shut down of the state-run broadcaster.[17]

Services

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  • Direct To Home(DTH) television broadcasting
  • Broadband and Telephony backbone connectivity
  • Satellite Internet
  • VSATs

Fleet

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In January 2023, Arabsat owned eight operational satellites, at three orbital positions: 20° East, 26° East and 30.5° East.[18]

Planned Launches

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  • Arabsat-7A scheduled 2026[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Emir of Kuwait Adorns Arab Sat Informatics Medal 2009".Retrieved21 March2010.
  2. ^"Arab League Member States".ArabSat. Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2013.
  3. ^Krebs, Gunter D."Arabsat 1A, 1B, 1C / Insat 2DT".Gunter's Space Page.Retrieved15 January2023.
  4. ^"Arabsat - Saudi Arabia and Communication Satellite Systems".GlobalSecurity.org.Retrieved15 January2023.
  5. ^Krebs, Gunter D."Arabsat 3A (Badr 3)".Gunter's Space Page.Retrieved15 January2023.
  6. ^Ray, Justin (28 February 2006)."Proton rocket fails in Arab satellite launch".spaceflightnow.Retrieved15 January2023.
  7. ^Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (22 February 2007)."Mystery Over Australia".Astronomy Picture of the Day.NASA.
  8. ^Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (26 February 2007)."A Rocket Debris Cloud Drifts".Astronomy Picture of the Day.NASA.
  9. ^"Another successful Arianespace launch: ProtoStar I and Badr-6 are in orbit".Arianespace.
  10. ^"Mission accomplished! Arianespace orbits Arabsat-5A and COMS".Arianespace. 26 June 2010.Retrieved15 January2023.
  11. ^"Mission Status Center".spaceflightnow. 22 September 2011.Retrieved15 January2023.
  12. ^Sheetz, Michael (15 March 2019)."Second SpaceX Falcon Heavy flight gets April 7 launch date: Sources".CNBC.Retrieved19 March2019.
  13. ^Rainbow, Jason (29 April 2022)."Arabsat orders first fully software-defined satellite".Space News.Retrieved15 January2023.
  14. ^arabsat-7b-badr-8
  15. ^Sweney, Mark (31 July 2019)."World's football bodies urge Saudi Arabia to stop pirate TV service".The Guardian.Retrieved31 July2019.
  16. ^"World Cup 2018: All 64 matches to be shown illegally in Saudi Arabia after Qatar channel beIN Sports banned in diplomatic row".Independent.Retrieved19 May2018.
  17. ^"Fifa, Uefa and Premier League call on Saudi Arabia to take 'swift and decisive action' against BeoutQ pirate TV channel".Independent. 31 July 2019.Retrieved31 July2019.
  18. ^"Arabsat".Sky Brokers.Retrieved15 January2023.
  19. ^"Arabsat-5C".satbeams.Retrieved15 January2023.
  20. ^"Morocco, Major Player in Arab Satellite Communications Organization 'Arabsat' (Official)".15 February 2023.
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