Galaxy

Hughes Communications owns and operates the Galaxy satellites as part of its commercial satellite network. These satellites, as well as Hughes' Westar 4, Westar 5, SBS 4, SBS 5, and SBS 6 spacecraft, have been used to provide channel capacity to a wide variety of commercial customers, including cable TV, commercial TV corporations, radio distributors, and private business network services. The satellites are controlled from Hughes' headquarters in El Segundo, California. Galaxy 1, 2, 3 were launched during the early 80's and formed the initial elements of Hughes' commercial satellite system. These vehicles provided C-band TV services, as well as audio and business telecommunications services. The system was supplemented in 1988 by Hughes' acquisition of the orbiting Westar 4 and 5 vehicles. The satellite system has since undergone an incremental upgrade process, beginning with the replacement of Galaxy 1 in 1994 by the more powerful Galaxy 1R. Other changes have included the replacement of Galaxy 3 by Galaxy 3R (in 1995), the replacement of Westar 4 by Galaxy 4, which also added Ku-band services, and the launch of Galaxy 5 to replace the aging Westar 5. The launch of Galaxy 6 in 1990 brought the network to a total of 6 satellites, which was further supplemented by the purchase of the already orbiting SBS 4, 5, 6 spacecraft during 1990. The 1992 launch of Galaxy 7 expanded the system's Ku-band services. All Galaxy, Westar, and SBS satellites were built by Hughes Space and Communications.

Launch Facts

Name	Int'l Desig.	Date	Site	Vehicle	Orbit	Mass(kg)
Notes
Galaxy 1	1983-065A	6/28/83	ESMC	Delta 3920	GEO	1218
TV
Galaxy 2	1983-098A	9/22/83	ESMC	Delta 3920	GEO	1218
Galaxy 3	1983-101A	9/21/84	ESMC	Delta 3920	GEO	1218
93.5 deg W
Galaxy 6	1990-091B	10/12/90	Kourou	Ariane 44L	GEO	1212
99 deg W
Galaxy 5	1992-013A	3/14/92	ESMC	Atlas	GEO	1412
125 deg W
Galaxy 1R	none	8/22/92	ESMC	Atlas 1	FTO
Destroyed by range safety
Galaxy 7	1992-072A	10/28/92	Kourou	Ariane 42P	GEO	2968
91 deg W
Galaxy 4	1993-039A	6/25/93	Kourou	Ariane 42P	GEO	2988
99 deg W
Galaxy 1R	1994-013A	2/19/94	ESMC	Delta 2	GEO	1391
133 deg W; replaced Galaxy 1
Galaxy 3R	1995-069A	12/15/95	ESMC	Atlas 2A	GEO	2980
95 deg W; 24 C-band, 24 Ku-band transponders; TV for Caribbean and Central America