SES-8

Built on the basis of the space platform GEO STAR-2.4 by Orbital Sciences Corporation . Power supply is provided by two solar panels and lithium-ion batteries. Satellite power - 5 kW . Orbital maneuvering is carried out using hydrazine thruster. The device is equipped with 2 foldable reflectors 2.5 x 2.7 meters in size and a fixed 1.45 meter antenna. Expected service life - 15 years ^{[2] [3]} . The starting mass of the satellite is 3138 kg ^[4] .

Transponders

24 active Ku-band transponders with a capacity of 36 and 56 MHz, switched between 33 channels and two beams, are installed on the satellite. Also installed Ka-band transponders ^[2] .

Coverage

The SES-8 satellite will provide telecommunications services to consumers in South Asia ( India ) and Indo-China ( Vietnam , Thailand , Laos ) ^{[1] [2]} .

It was the first for SpaceX to launch a commercial satellite into a geo-transfer orbit and the first launch of a new version of the Falcon 9 v1.1 carrier rocket from the SLC-40 launch complex at Cape Canaveral .

After an unsuccessful experiment with re-starting the second stage during the previous mission ( CASSIOPE ) due to the freezing of the pipeline for the ignition system mixture (TEA-TEB), these pipelines were equipped with additional thermal insulation ^[5] .

The attempt to launch on November 25, 2013 was interrupted three times during the prelaunch due to technical problems with the equipment of the tank with liquid oxygen of the first stage of the launch vehicle. In connection with the completion of the start window time, the launch was postponed to the next starting date, November 28 ^{[6] [7]} .

On November 28, 2013, the launch of the Falcon 9 was automatically interrupted by the flight computer 1 second before the start due to insufficient thrust from the first stage engines. A retry launch was interrupted by the startup director and the launch was delayed for several days to identify the causes of the problem. A subsequent inspection revealed that oxygen was entering the self-igniting mixture of triethylaluminum and triethylborane (TEA-TEB), which is used to ignite engines of the first stage. Due to the decrease in concentration, the mixture did not provide the incendiary reaction of the necessary force, which resulted in a slow set of full thrust engines. The turbopump gas generator on all engines of the first stage was cleaned of pollution, and completely replaced in the central engine ^{[6] [7]} .

The launch of the SES-8 satellite took place at 22:41 UTC on December 3, 2013 by the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle from the SLC-40 launch complex at Cape Canaveral . After turning off the Merlin D1 engine Vacuum and 18-minute free flight in an intermediate orbit, the second stage was successfully restarted and worked for 71 seconds to bring the satellite to a super-synchronous geo-transition orbit 385 x 79 129 km, inclination 20.5 ° ^{[6] [ 7] [8]} .

• SES-8 Mission - mission press review ( eng. ).