The Nimiq satellites are four Canadian geostationary telecommunications satellites used by satellite television provider Bell ExpressVu. 'Nimiq' is an Inuit word used for an object or a force which binds things together. A contest in 1998 was held to choose the name of these satellites. The contest drew over 36,000 entries.
Nimiq 1 was launched on November 21 1999 by a Proton K Blok DM-3 rocket from Baikonur CosmodromeinKazakhstan. It was Canada's first direct broadcast digital TV satellite and was paid for by Telesat, a Canadian communications company and subsidiary of Bell Canada Enterprises. Nimiq 1 Channels
Nimiq 2, launched on December 29, 2002 on a Proton Breeze M rocket, includes 2 K-band transponders. Nimiq 2 provides additional bandwidth for HDTV and interactive television applications. On February 20, 2003, Nimiq 2 experienced a partial power failure and as such can only power 26 of its 32 Ku-band transponders.
Nimiq 3 and Nimiq 4i were leased by Bell ExpressVu from DirecTV Inc. when they were already in orbit. Originally called DirectTV3 and DirectTV2 respectively, these Hughes HS-601 models were brought out of retirement and are currently used to share some of the workload from Nimiq 2 and Nimiq 1, respectively. They went online in ExpressVu's stead in 2004 and 2006.
Nimiq 4i run out of fuel and was replacedbyNimiq 4iR on April 28, 2007.
Nimiq 4 is scheduled to be launched in early 2008 by a Proton Breeze M rocket from Baikonur CosmodromeinKazakhstan. It will replace Nimiq 4i.
