HYLAS-4 is a telecommunications satellite owned and operated by Avanti Communications and manufactured by Orbital ATK (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) that was launched by an Ariane 5 rocket on 5 April 2018.[2]
| Operator | Avanti Communications[1] |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2018-033B  |
| SATCAT no. | 43272 |
| Mission duration | 15 years[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Star-3 Bus |
| Manufacturer | Orbital ATK[2] |
| Launch mass | 4,000 kg |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 5 April 2018, 21:34 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | Ariane 5 flight VA242[2] |
| Launch site | ELA-3, Guiana Space Centre[2] |
| Contractor | Arianespace[1] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Eccentricity | circular[3] |
| Periapsis altitude | 35,786 km[3] |
| Apoapsis altitude | 35,786 km[3] |
| Period | 23h 56min[4] |
| Transponders | |
| Band | Ka-band[1] |
| Capacity | up to 28 GHz[1] |
The satellite is built to provide high speed data transmission services to Africa, Latin America and Europe.[5] It is based on Orbital ATK's Star-3 Bus, delivering 64 28 GHz fixed beams covering Africa and parts of Europe. There are also four independent steerable beams that can serve Africa, South America and Europe.[6] The capacity will partially be used to allow Avanti to expand into new markets and provide growth for existing markets.[1]
The satellite was launched into geosynchronous orbitbyArianespace on an Ariane 5 rocket in its ECA variant from ELA-3atGuiana Space CentreinFrench Guiana. The launch was originally planned in early 2017 but has been delayed to 21 March 2018, and then to 5 April 2018.[1][2] The satellite reached its geostationary orbital position by 19 April 2018.[7]