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Arsat-1, the first made-in-Argentina telecommunications satellite, completed over the weekend the last of five apogee maneuver firings that put it into its definitive geostationary orbit, operator Arsat told Efe Monday.
The 3-ton satellite, with a projected lifespan of 15 years, now orbits at an altitude of 35,736 kilometers and will support telephone, television and data transmissions in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Arsat-1, launched Oct. 16 from French Guiana atop an Arianespace Ariane-5 rocket, is controlled from the Benavidez Ground Station in northern Buenos Aires province.
Though in its permanent orbit, Arsat-1 is not yet operational, as the process of deploying solar panels and extending the antenna will take a few months, sources at Arsat said.
The Argentine Geostationary Satellites Telecommunications System envisions the construction and launch of two additional satellites.
Published in Latino Daily News