Article Posted on : - Dec 16, 2010

NEWTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA (BNS): The A2100 commercial communications satellite fleet has achieved a major milestone by accumulating 300 years of successful in-orbit operations.

The Lockheed Martin built satellite series currently consists of 37 commercial communication satellites featuring 1400 transponders with an accumulated lifetime of over 11,000 years of successful operations in orbit.

The first A2100 satellite, GE-1 (now known as AMC-1), was launched in 1996 and has surpassed 14 years of service life. BSAT-3b, the most recent A2100 spacecraft, was launched in 2010 for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan.

“The easy-to-fly A2100 satellite’s tremendous versatility and reliability are based on an incremental approach to implementing new technology, enhancing spacecraft performance while assuming very low risk to the overall mission,” said Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS) President Joseph Rickers.

The A2100's modular design features simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost. The spacecraft can also be configured for missions other than communication.