Ginkgo

Astra 2G is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched to the Astra 28.2°E orbital position on 27 December 2014, at 21:37:49 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome.^[2]

Astra 2G is positioned at 28.5° East (part of the Astra 28.2°E orbital position) and is the last of three "second generation" satellites launched to this position to replace the first generation Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Astra 2C and Astra 2D satellites originally positioned there between 1998 and 2001, and it joined Astra 2E and Astra 2F launched in 2013 and 2012, respectively.^[3]

Market

Astra 2G carries both Ku-band and Ka-band payloads and will deliver broadcast, VSAT and broadband services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and will also provide the ability to connect West Africa to Europe via Ka-band.^[4] The Astra 28.2° East position was established in 1998 to provide digital television, digital radio and multimedia services to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a major part of Astra 2G's mission is to continue, extend and backup this provision. Along with Astra 2E and Astra 2F it will deliver programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000 Internet Protocol television (IPTV_ homes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major United Kingdom digital satellite television platforms, BSkyB and Freesat.

Astra 2G also supports SATMED, a satellite-based e-health platform developed by SES and supported by the Luxembourg Government and the Ministry for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action which enables communication between doctors, enabling the transfer and exchange of medical knowledge and supporting tools for medical e-learning and e-teaching to improve public health in emerging and developing countries, particularly in isolated areas.^[2]

Broadcasting footprints

Astra 2G has three Ku-band downlink beams and one Ka-band beam:^[4]

The European beam is centred on the Benelux countries with reception from a 60 cm (24 in) dish available across most of Europe - west to the Portuguese eastern border, east to Belarus, north to Estonia and south to coast of North Africa.
The UK beam provides maximum signal (for reception with 45 cm (18 in) dishes) over the whole United Kingdom, Ireland, Benelux and northern France with a sharp roll-off of signal level outside this region, in close approximation of the UK beam of Astra 2D. This enables channels to be broadcast free-to-air but with reception effectively constrained to the British Isles, and has been the basis for the Freesat free-to-air United Kingdom platform.^[5]
The strongest signals of the West Africa beam (receivable on 50 cm (20 in) dishes) covers Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and northern Cameroon, with additional "lobes" for parts of Gabon and Congo. Reception on larger dishes is available across the entire sub-Saharan west Africa region.
The Ka-band footprint is centred on France with coverage over all of western Europe.

History

The launch of Astra 2G was intended to be from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by International Launch Services (ILS) Proton-M launch vehicle a month earlier, on 28 November 2014 but technical problems with the launch vehicle caused it to be rolled back from the launch pad to undergo a component replacement. The satellite had arrived at Baikonur on 29 October 2014 after a delayed flight from Europe - an emergency landing of the transport aircraft in the city of Ulyanovsk due to engine trouble required replacement of the aircraft's engine and a two-day delay.^[6]

Finally launched successfully on 27 December 2014, at 21:37:49 UTC,^[7] the satellite was initially positioned at 21.0° East for three months and then tested at 43.5° East,^[8]^[9] before moving to the Astra 28.2° East position in June 2015.^[10]

On 18 June 2015, the first six channels, including ITV and Channel 4, began broadcasting from Astra 2G,^[11] transferred from Astra 2E, Astra 2F and, in particular from Eutelsat 28A, which was some two years beyond its expected end-of-life and operating with some transponders considerably under power.^[12] The final Eutelsat 28A channels, including the Freesat EPG data channel, transferred to Astra 2G on 29 June 2015.^[13]

Active transponders

Below is a list of the television channels broadcast to the UK and Ireland from active transponders on Astra 2G as of July 2024:^[14]

In the list, channels broadcast with a one-hour delay are shown as Channel +1hr. Where both the original and the delayed channel are broadcast from the same transponder, this is shown in one entry as Channel [also +1hr].

UK Beam

Tp61 11.023 GHz H 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:

BBC One Wales HD
BBC One West Midlands HD
BBC One Scotland HD
BBC News HD
BBC Alba HD

Tp63 11.053 GHz H 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:

ITV 1 Channel TV
ITV 1 Granada HD
ITV 1 Tyne Tees HD
ITV 1 Wales HD
ITV 1 Westcountry South West HD
ITV 1 Westcountry West HD
ITV 2 HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp64 11.068 GHz V 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:

ITV 1 Anglia East HD
ITV 1 Border England HD
ITV 1 Yorkshire East HD
ITV 4 HD
ITV Be
STV West HD
Ulster TV HD

Tp66 11.097 GHz V 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:

ITV 3 HD
ITV 1 Anglia West HD
ITV 1 Border Scotland
ITV 1 Central East HD
ITV 1 Meridian South Coast HD
ITV 1 Meridian Thames Valley HD
ITV 1 Yorkshire West HD

Tp68 11.126 GHz V 22000 5/6:

Channel 4 London HD

European Beam

Tp62 11.038 GHz V 23000 2/3 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

Animal Planet UK +1hr
Discovery Channel Ireland
Discovery Channel UK +1hr
Discovery History +1hr
Discovery Science UK +1hr
Discovery Turbo UK +1hr
DMAX Ireland (unencrypted)
HGTV Ireland (unencrypted)
Investigation Discovery Ireland
Investigation Discovery UK [also +1hr]
Quest Red Ireland (unencrypted)
TLC Ireland
TLC UK +1hr

Tp65 11.082 GHz H 23000 2/3:

ARY QTV UK
Blaze UK
Crime + Investigation UK [also +1hr] (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Eman Channel
Gems TV
Must Have Ideas
Now 70s
Now 80s
Rewind TV
Sikh Channel
Siraj TV
Sky History [also +1hr] (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Sky History 2 (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Zee Cinema UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Zee Punjabi UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Zee TV UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp67 11.112 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Brit Asia TV
Faith UK
Ideal World HD
Iqra Bangla
Iqra TV
India Today UK
Islam TV
Must Have Ideas HD
New Media TV HD
Zee TV UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp69 11.141 GHz H 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

Comedy Central Ireland
Comedy Central UK [also +1hr]
Comedy Central Extra Ireland
MTV Hits UK
MTV Music UK
Nick Jr Ireland
Nick Jr Too Ireland
Nick Jr UK [also +1hr]
Nickelodeon Ireland
Nickelodeon UK +1hr
NickToons Ireland

Tp105 11.224 GHz H 27500 2/3:

Aastha UK
Adult Channel (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Arise News
Colors Cineplex (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Colors Rishtey Europe (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Cruise 1st TV
EuroNews English
NTV Europe
PTC Punjabi
Samaa TV
Sanskar TV
TV One
Utsav Bharat (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp106 11.224 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Arirang World HD

Great! Romance Ireland

MTA 1 World HD
NHK World Japan HD

Tp107 11.264 GHz H 27500 2/3 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

Boomerang UK [also +1hr]
Cartoon Network UK [also +1hr]
Cartoonito UK
Film 4 Ireland

Tp108 11.264 GHz V 27500 2/3:

Akaal Channel UK
Dunamis TV
EWTN
Islam Channel
Islam Channel Urdu
Racing TV (encrypted in VideoGuard)
TBN UK

Tp91 11.494 GHz H 22000 5/6:

Channel 7
Channels 24
Dangal TV UK
QVC Beauty
QVC Extra
QVC Style UK HD
QVC UK HD

Tp92 11.509 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Aljazeera English HD
Racing TV UK HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)
TRT World HD
Colors UK HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp93 11.523 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

92 News
Ahlebait TV Networks
Alibi Ireland HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)
ATN Bangla UK
Ayozat TV
Ion TV
KICC TV
Politics Punjab TV
The Word Network
U&Dave Ireland HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)
U&W Ireland HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Xpanded TV

Tp95 11.553 GHz H 22000 5/6:

ARY Digital UK
ARY World
Channel S
Clubland
Craft Extra
Deen TV
Geo News International
High Street TV2
High Street TV3
Hum Masala UK
Hum TV Europe
Kanshi TV
MATV Channel
NDTV 24x7
Noor TV
Now Rock
NTD
Pitaara International
SBN International

Tp96 11.568 GHz V 22000 5/6:

Aaj Tak UK
Best Direct
Court TV UK
Faith World TV
Geo UK
High Street TV1
High Street TV4
JewelleryMaker
Now 90s & 00s
Primal Living
SET Asia (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Sony Max UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Sony Max2 (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Sony SAB TV Asia (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Takbeer TV
That's Dance
Travelxp
TV Warehouse

Tp97 11.582 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

TNT Sports 1-5
TNT Sports Box Office Ireland

Tp98 11.597 GHz V 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

TNT Sports 2, 4-10
TNT Sports mosaic

Tp99 11.612 GHz H 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

TNT Sports 1, 3

Tp100 11.627 GHz V 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):

Comedy Central UK HD
Comedy Central Extra UK
MTV 80s
MTV 90s
MTV Ireland
MTV UK
MTV UK HD
Nick Jr UK HD
NickToons UK

Tp101 11.641 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Phoenix CNE HD

Tp102 11.650 GHz V 22000 5/6 DVB-S2:

B4U Movies UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
B4U Music UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Colors UK (encrypted in VideoGuard)
God TV UK
Islam Channel Bangla
London Live (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Madani Channel English
Panjab Broadcasting Channel
Revelation TV
Sangat TV
TRT World
TVC News
Utsav Gold (encrypted in VideoGuard)
Utsav Plus (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp103 11.671 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Bloomberg TV UK HD
CNN International Europe HD
GB News HD
Loveworld TV HD
Premier Sports 1 UK HD (encrypted in VideoGuard)

Tp104 11.686 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:

Daystar TV HD

References

^ "ASTRA 2G". N2YO.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Astra 2G Satellite Roars Into Orbit" (Press release). SES. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ "SES Orders Four New Satellites From ASTRIUM" (Press release). SES. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b ASTRA 2G Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine SES Fact Sheet January 2015 Accessed January 3, 2014
^ Bains, Geoff "Flight of the Big Birds" What Satellite & Digital TV February 2012 pp.29
^ "Proton Technical Issues Postpone ILS Launch of Astra 2G" (Press release). SpaceNews. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
^ Successful Proton Mission Caps busy Year of Russian Space Launches Archived 26 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Spaceflight 101 December 27, 2014 Accessed October 28, 2016
^ Single Satellite View for ASTRA 2G accessed March 3, 2015
^ Astra 2G: Testing at 43.5°E accessed May 18, 2015
^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed June 29, 2015
^ [1] Sat and PC Guy blog June 1, 2015 Accessed June 26, 2015
^ RACE AGAINST TIME TO REPLACE FAILING EUROBIRD SATELLITE Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Best TV Choice June 1, 2015 Accessed June 29, 2015
^ Freesat EPG and last few channels transfer from Eutelsat 28A to new Astra 2 satellites Sat and PC Guy blog June 29, 2015 Accessed June 29, 2015
^ "Astra 2G at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Retrieved 29 July 2024.

External links

[n2yo-1] "ASTRA 2G". N2YO.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.

[SESlaunch-2] "Astra 2G Satellite Roars Into Orbit" (Press release). SES. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

[3] "SES Orders Four New Satellites From ASTRIUM" (Press release). SES. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

[factsheet-4] ASTRA 2G Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine SES Fact Sheet January 2015 Accessed January 3, 2014

[5] Bains, Geoff "Flight of the Big Birds" What Satellite & Digital TV February 2012 pp.29

[6] "Proton Technical Issues Postpone ILS Launch of Astra 2G" (Press release). SpaceNews. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

[7] Successful Proton Mission Caps busy Year of Russian Space Launches Archived 26 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Spaceflight 101 December 27, 2014 Accessed October 28, 2016

[8] Single Satellite View for ASTRA 2G accessed March 3, 2015

[9] Astra 2G: Testing at 43.5°E accessed May 18, 2015

[10] Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed June 29, 2015

[11] [1] Sat and PC Guy blog June 1, 2015 Accessed June 26, 2015

[12] RACE AGAINST TIME TO REPLACE FAILING EUROBIRD SATELLITE Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Best TV Choice June 1, 2015 Accessed June 29, 2015

[13] Freesat EPG and last few channels transfer from Eutelsat 28A to new Astra 2 satellites Sat and PC Guy blog June 29, 2015 Accessed June 29, 2015

[14] "Astra 2G at 28.2°E". LyngSat. Retrieved 29 July 2024.

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Satellites operated by SES
SES fleet	Active: SES-1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (EchoStar 105) 12 14 15 16 (GovSat-1) 17
AMC fleet	Active: AMC-4 6 8 10 11 15 16 18 21 Backups: AMC-7 Retired: AMC-1 2 3 5 9 Failed launch: AMC-14
NSS fleet	Active: NSS-6 7 9 10 11 12 806 Retired: NSS-5 513 703 K Failed launch: NSS-8
Astra fleet	Active: Astra 1KR 1L 1M 1N 2E 2F 2G 3B 4A 5B Backups: Astra 1D 1F 1G 1H 2A 2B 2C 2D 3A To be activated: Astra 1P Retired: Astra 1A 1B 1C 1E 5A Sirius 3 Failed launch: Astra 1K Orbital positions: 5.0°E 19.2°E 23.5°E 28.2°E 31.5°E Subsidiary: SES Astra
Third parties	Active: Ciel-2 MonacoSAT QuetzSat 1 Yahsat 1A

← 2013 Orbital launches in 2014 2015 →
January	GSAT-14 Thaicom 6 CRS Orb-1 (Flock-1 × 28, ArduSat-2, Lituanica SAT-1, LitSat-1, SkyCube, UAPSat-1) TDRS-L
February	Progress M-22M ABS-2, Athena-Fidus Türksat 4A USA-248 GPM Core, Ginrei, KSAT-2, INVADER, OPUSAT, STARS-II, TeikyoSat-3, ITF-1
March	Ekspress AT1, Ekspress AT2 Astra 5B, Amazonas 4A Kosmos 2494 Soyuz TMA-12M Shijian XI-06
April	USA-249 / DMSP-5D3 F19 Sentinel-1A IRNSS-1B Progress M-23M Ofek-10 USA-250 EgyptSat 2 SpaceX CRS-3 (KickSat) Luch 5V, KazSat-3
May	Kosmos 2495 Ekspress AM4R USA-251 USA-252 Kosmos 2496, Kosmos 2497, Kosmos 2498, Kosmos 2499 ALOS-2, Raijin-2, UNIFORM-1, SOCRATES, SPROUT Eutelsat 3B Soyuz TMA-13M
June	Kosmos 2500 / GLONASS-M 755 AprizeSat 9, AprizeSat 10, BRITE-Montreal, BRITE-Toronto, BugSat 1, Deimos-2, Hodoyoshi 3, Hodoyoshi 4, KazEOSat 2, Perseus-M1, Perseus-M2, SaudiSat-4, TabletSat-Aurora, UniSat-6 (Lemur-1, Tigrisat), Flock-1c × 11 SPOT 7, CanX-4, CanX-5
July	OCO-2 Gonets-M × 3 Meteor-M No.2 O3b × 4 CRS Orb-2 (Flock-1b × 28, TechEdSat-4) Orbcomm-OG2 × 6 Foton-M No.4 Progress M-24M USA-253 / GSSAP 1, USA-254 / GSSAP 2, USA-255 / ANGELS Georges Lemaître ATV
August	USA-256 AsiaSat 8 Yaogan 20 A, B, C WorldView-3 Gaofen 2, Heweliusz Galileo FOC-1, Galileo FOC-2
September	Chuangxin 1-04, Lingqiao AsiaSat 6 Yaogan 21, Tiantuo 2 MEASAT 3b, Optus 10 USA-257 SpaceX CRS-4 Soyuz TMA-14M Olimp-K Shijian XI-07
October	Himawari 8 IRNSS-1C ARSAT-1, Intelsat 30 Yaogan 22 Ekspress AM6 Chang'e 5-T1, 4M Shijian 11-08 Cygnus CRS Orb-3† (Arkyd-3†, Flock-1d × 26†) Progress M-25M USA-258 / GPS IIF 8 Meridian 7
November	Sasuke, Hodoyoshi 1, Kinshachi 1, Tsukushi, TSUBAME Yaogan 23 Yaogan 24 Kuaizhou 2 Soyuz TMA-15M Kosmos 2501
December	Hayabusa2, PROCYON, Shinen 2, DESPATCH Orion EFT-1 DirecTV-14, GSAT-16 CBERS-4 Yaogan 25 A, B, C USA-259 Yamal-401 O3b × 4 (FM9 to FM12) Kondor-E No.2 IPM Kosmos 2502 Resurs-P No.2 Yaogan 26 Astra 2G Fengyun 2-08
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).