Skynet 5
Skynet 5 is a British system of military communications satellites .
The system currently consists of four satellites: Skynet 5A to Skynet 5D. The satellites were built by EADS Astrium and put into orbit by Arianespace . The forerunners of the system were Skynet 1 to 4.
The £ 2.5 billion Skynet 5 PFI service agreement signed between Paradigm Secure Communications and the UK Ministry of Defense in October 2003 governs the creation and operation of the system. The contract was expanded at the end of 2005, is now valued at £ 3.2 billion and will run until 2020. EADS Astrium Ltd is the systems provider and Paradigm Services Ltd is the full service provider. Both are subsidiaries of EADS SPACE Services.
Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd operates the system and provides satellite communications as a service to the Ministry of Defense. This service will also be made available to other countries. There were contracts with various countries and organizations, e.g. B. NATO , closed.
| satellite | Start ( UTC ) | Launcher | Launch site | COSPAR name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skynet 5A | March 11, 2007, 10:03 p.m. | Ariane 5 ECA | Center Spatial Guyanais , ELA-3 | 2007-007B |
| Skynet 5B | November 14, 2007, 10:06 pm | Ariane 5 ECA | Center Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 | 2007-056B |
| Skynet 5C | June 12, 2008, 10:05 pm | Ariane 5 ECA | Center Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 | 2008-030A |
| Skynet 5D | December 19, 2012, 9:49 pm | Ariane 5 ECA | Center Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3 | 2012-075A |
Web links
- EADS Astrium - Skynet-5 (archived February 21, 2013)
- Paradigm signs extension of Skynet 5 contract , December 20, 2005 (archived June 26, 2007)
- Government Communications . Paradigm Secure (Archived January 31, 2013)
- BBC: Final Skynet satellite launched (English)
- Satellite world - geostationary UHF military satellites
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paradigm signs contract with UK Department of Defense for fourth Skynet 5 satellite. Astrium March 9, 2010, archived from the original on July 27, 2012 ; Retrieved February 9, 2011 .