Spanish satellite communications operator HISPASAT has defined a new designation system for its satellite fleet. The change comes as a response to the Group’s growing number of satellites and orbital positions and reflects efforts to maintain designation coherency.

The company seeks to establish a logical method to automate future satellite designations and provide informative content regarding satellites’ position and age and, therefore, has established the following system: all satellites will use Hispasat as their primary name, to which complementary information will be added in reference to each satellite’s orbital position and their order of arrival. Hence, when a satellite changes its location, its designation will also change, adapting it to the satellite’s new orbital position.

In establishing HISPASAT’s new satellite designations, consideration has been given to the satellites that have already completed their useful life cycle and, therefore, been deorbited, such that numbering system will be linked to the history of the company’s satellites.

Excluded from this system will be satellites located at 61º West, which will keep the name Amazonas, since they are fully established on the market and well-known by all of the actors in the sector. However, HISPASAT will take the opportunity to reduce the designation Amazonas 4A to Amazonas 4, given the restructuring of the Amazonas 4B project into Amazonas 5.

Lastly, when HISPASAT’s capacity is aboard another operator’s satellite, as is the case for Intelsat 34, and authorisation is granted by that operator, the satellite will be redesignated in Paseo de la Castellana.

Categories: Articles, DTH/Satellite