Star One C4

Photo: SS/L
Photo: SS/L

Star One C4 is a commercial communications satellite built by Space Systems/Loral for operation by Embratel Star One, hosting an all Ku-Ban payload to deliver video, data and voice connectivity to a large area of the Americas.

The satellite is based on SS/L’s well proven LS-1300 satellite bus that is capable of hosting powerful communications payloads with high power demands. Star One C4 has a launch mass of 5,565 Kilograms, measuring 5.1 by 2.35 by 2.2 meters in its launch configuration.

LS-1300 is a flexible satellite platform that can be flown in different configurations to accommodate different communication payloads with a total power of 5 to 18kW. Using different configurations, LS-1300 satellites can weigh from 2,200 up to 6,700 Kilograms featuring payloads of 12 to 150 transponders. LS-1300 was introduced in the late 1980s, but undergoes constant modifications going through a number of revisions over the years.

Star One C4 uses the high-power variant of LS-1300, featuring two five-panel solar arrays that deliver 15.6kW of power to a dedicated system that conditions the satellite’s power bus and controls the state of charge of the vehicle’s batteries. Three-axis stabilization and navigation is accomplished by state of the art navigation sensors and reaction wheels.

The satellite is equipped with a chemical propulsion system for orbit-raising and stationkeeping using a main apogee engine and a series of attitude control thrusters. LS-1300 also provides the option of an additional electric propulsion system, whether this option is exercised for Star One C4 is not known.

The Star One C4 satellite features an all Ku-Band payload consisting of 48 transponders operating at a bandwidth of 36 MHz.

The spacecraft joins the Star One C1, C2, C3 and C12 satellites in the third generation of Embratel Star One’s communications satellites that delivers a continuity in telephony, television, radio, data transmission and Internet services in Brazil and expands these services to Latin American countries and the mainland of the United States.

The Star One C4 satellite will be located at 70 degrees West longitude in Geostationary Orbit which is considered to be the most important position for the Brazilian broadcast market. Co-located with Star One C2, the C4 satellite will increase the existing Ku-Band capacity at that position. Services provided by the C4 spacecraft include video transmission and Internet distribution directly to users as well as telephony services provided to remote locations. Ku-Band coverage delivered by the Star One C4 satellite extends across the entire Brazilian territory.

Star One C4 is built for a mission of at least 15 years.