Thaicom 5
| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | Thaicom Public Company Limited |
| COSPAR ID | 2006-020B |
| Mission duration | 12 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Spacebus 3000A |
| Manufacturer | Alcatel Alenia Space |
| Launch mass | 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 27 May 2006, 21:09 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 5ECA |
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-3 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 78.5° East |
| Perigee | 35,777 kilometres (22,231 mi) |
| Apogee | 35,796 kilometres (22,243 mi) |
| Inclination | 0 degrees |
| Period | 24 hours |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 25 C band 14 Ku band |
Thaicom 5 is a Thai geostationary communications satellite which is operated by Thaicom. It is used to provide communications services to Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia.
Thaicom 5 was constructed by Alcatel Alenia Space, and is based on the Spacebus 3000A satellite bus, with a configuration identical to the Thaicom 3 satellite which it replaced. It was originally ordered as Thaicom 4, but sold to Agrani as Agrani 2 before completion. It was completed in 1997, and stored until June 2005 when it was cancelled and sold back to Thaicom as Thaicom 5. It is equipped with 25 G/H band (IEEE C band) and 14 J band (IEEE Ku band) transponders, and at launch it had a mass of 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb), with an expected operational lifespan of 12 years.
The satellite was launched on an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket, contracted by Arianespace, flying from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Centre. The launch occurred at 21:09 UTC on 27 May 2006, and placed Thaicom 5, along with the Mexican Satmex 6 spacecraft, into geosynchronous transfer orbit. At the time, this was the heaviest dual-satellite payload ever launched into geosynchronous transfer orbit, however this record has since been broken.
Following launch, THAICOM 5 raised itself into geostationary orbit using an S400 engine, with insertion occurring on 3 June 2006. It underwent on-orbit testing, and was positioned at a longitude of 78.5° East for operational service, where it replaced the failing Thaicom 3 satellite. On 2 October 2006, after Thaicom 5 had become operational, Thaicom 3 was moved to a graveyard orbit.
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