AMC-6

AMC-6, formerly GE-6, is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies. Launched on October 21, 2000, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, AMC-6 became the fifth hybrid C band/Ku band satellite in the GE Americom fleet. The satellite provides coverage to the continental United States, Canada, the Caribbean islands, southern Greenland, and Central and South America. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the eastern United States coastline, AMC-6 provides service to commercial and government customers, and is used as an Internet platform due to its wide coverage, scale and redundancy. Some of its capabilities include VSAT networking, satellite news gathering and Ku band transceiver service.[3] Launched as GE-6, it was renamed AMC-6 when SES took over GE Americom in 2001, forming SES Americom. This merged with SES New Skies in 2009 to form SES World Skies.[6]

For the ship, see USS Heath Hen (AMc-6).
AMC-6
Mission typeCommunications[1]
OperatorGE Americom (2000–2001)
SES Americom (2001–2009)
SES World Skies (2009—)
COSPAR ID2000-067A
SATCAT no.26580
WebsiteAMC-6 website
Mission duration15 years (design life)[2][3]
Spacecraft properties
BusA2100AX[4]
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass3,909 kilograms (8,618 lb)[2]
Start of mission
Launch dateOctober 21, 2000, 22:00 (2000-10-21UTC22Z) UTC
RocketProton-K/DM3[2]
Launch siteBaikonur 81/23[1][2]
ContractorILS
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Longitude72° West[3]
Perigee altitude35,784.8 kilometers (22,235.6 mi)[5]
Apogee altitude35,803.9 kilometers (22,247.5 mi)[5]
Inclination0 degrees[5]
Period1436.1 minutes[5]
Transponders
Band24 C band
28 Ku band
Frequency36 MHz
72 MHz (4 Ku-band)
Coverage areaNorth and South America[3]
 

References
  1. "NSSDC Master Catalog: GE 6". NASA.gov. April 2, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  2. Krebs, Gunter (May 31, 2008). "GE 4, 6 / AMC 4, 6 / Rainbow 2". Skyrocket.de. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  3. "Satellite Data". SES-Worldskies.com. 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  4. "Satellite Manufacturing Special" (PDF). Satellite-evolution.com. September–October 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  5. "AMC-6 (GE-6) Satellite details". N2YO.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  6. "SES Americom-New Skies Satellite Division Re-Brands as SES World Skies". Reuters. September 7, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
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