Galaxy 30

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CommunicationsGEOCOSPAR 2020-056CLaunched 8/15/2020

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Mission & Launch

Launch Mission: Galaxy 30/MEV2/BSAT-4b
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5ECA+
Launch Date: 8/15/2020

Orbit & Mass

Orbit Class: GEO
Altitude: 35,786 km
Inclination: 0.01 deg
Dry Mass: 2,500 kg
Total Mass: 3,298 kg

Payload Classification

Organizations

Operator: Intelsat
Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman

Constellation

Name: Galaxy GEO fleet
Active Satellites: 15

Registry

COSPAR ID: 2020-056C
UN Registration: ST/SG/SER.E/954

Mentions

All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.

Intelsat’s Galaxy fleet refresh plan began with Galaxy 30 in 2020 and includes a total of seven new Intelsat satellites scheduled to launch during the next six months.

PlanGrowthValue 4.0Nov 13, 2022SpaceX Falcon 9 shifts the Intelsat G-31 + G-32 satellites from Earth to their orbits

The FAA service migrated from Galaxy 15 to Galaxy 30 soon after Galaxy 30 was launched in 2020, and Galaxy 15’s L-band payload is no longer in use.

Northrop Grumman built the Galaxy-30 satellite, which carries C-band transponders for broadcast services and Ku- and Ka-band transponders for broadband connectivity over North America.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.2Aug 15, 2020Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic

Galaxy-30 carries an L-band hosted payload from Leidos for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration that refines GPS signals for aircraft as part of the Wide Area Augmentation System.

CapabilityRelationshipsGeneralValue 4.5Aug 15, 2020Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic

Galaxy-30 is a replacement for Intelsat's Galaxy-14 satellite, an 11-year-old satellite from Maxar Technologies that launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V in 2009.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.0Aug 15, 2020Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic

Intelsat ordered Galaxy-30 before the Federal Communications Commission had decided to auction 300 megahertz of C-band spectrum and require satellite operators to vacate the spectrum.

RelationshipsLegalValue 4.0Aug 15, 2020Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic

Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) 2 is scheduled to launch 2020-08-15 on an Ariane 5 and that launch will also place the Galaxy 30 and BSAT-4b communications satellites into orbit.

PlanCapabilityGeneralValue 4.5Aug 13, 2020Satellite servicing industry seeks interface standards

Intelsat’s Galaxy-30 satellite was scheduled to launch in summer 2020 on an Ariane 5 rocket.

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0May 14, 2020Intelsat declares bankruptcy as means to fund C-band spectrum clearing

Intelsat is budgeting for five new satellites through 2022, including the already-ordered Galaxy-30 being built by Northrop Grumman and the Intelsat-40e under construction at Maxar Technologies.

PlanGrowthRelationshipsValue 4.0Feb 20, 2020Intelsat to FCC: C-Band Alliance is dead, we deserve more money

Arianespace is scheduled to launch Galaxy-30 in 2020 on an Ariane 5 with Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle 2.

PlanRelationshipsCapabilityValue 4.0Feb 4, 2019GEO satellite orders continued to underwhelm in 2018

Intelsat selected Orbital ATK in January 2018 to build Galaxy-30 as the first satellite in its Galaxy fleet replacement program.

RelationshipsPlanValue 4.2Feb 4, 2019GEO satellite orders continued to underwhelm in 2018

Intelsat ordered the Galaxy-30 satellite from Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) in January.

RelationshipsValue 4.0Oct 8, 2018Intelsat: losing 200 or more megahertz of C-band will require new satellites

Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems was chosen to build Intelsat’s Galaxy-30 GEO satellite.

RelationshipsValue 4.5Jul 24, 2018Maxar considering exiting GEO satellite manufacturing business

Intelsat purchased a satellite called Galaxy-30 from Orbital ATK in January.

RelationshipsValue 4.3May 23, 2018FCC tells Eutelsat that Intelsat already called dibs on U.S. orbital slot