| Intelsat VA F-15 → Columbia 515 | |
| Mission Type: | Communication |
| Operator: | IntelsatColumbia Communications Corporation |
| Cospar Id: | 1989-006A |
| Satcat: | 19772 |
| Mission Duration: | 7 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft Bus: | Intelsat VA |
| Manufacturer: | Ford Aerospace |
| Dry Mass: | 1098 kg [1] |
| Launch Mass: | 1981 kg |
| Power: | 1800 watts |
| Dimensions: | 1.66 x 2.1 x 1.77 metres |
| Launch Date: | 27 January 1989, 01:21:00 UTC[2] |
| Launch Rocket: | Ariane 2 V28 |
| Launch Site: | Kourou, ELA-1 |
| Launch Contractor: | Aérospatiale |
| Disposal Type: | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated: | November 2002 |
| Orbit Epoch: | 27 January 1989 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary orbit |
| Orbit Longitude: | 60.0° East (1989-1992), 18.0° West (1992-1996), 21.5° West (1996-1998), 37.8° West (1998-2002) |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Trans Band: | 29 C-band 6 Ku-band |
| Programme: | Intelsat V |
| Previous Mission: | Intelsat VA F-14 |
| Next Mission: | Intelsat VI F-1 |
Intelsat VA F-15 or Intelsat 515, then named Columbia 515, was a communications satellite operated by Intelsat and which was later sold to Columbia Communications Corporation. Launched in 1989, it was the fifteenth of fifteen Intelsat V satellites to be launched. The Intelsat V series was constructed by Ford Aerospace, based on the Intelsat VA satellite bus. Intelsat VA F-15 was part of an advanced series of satellites designed to provide greater telecommunications capacity for Intelsat's global network, from an orbital station at 60.0° East.
The satellite was box-shaped, measuring 1.66 by 2.1 by 1.77 metres; solar arrays spanned 15.9 metres tip to tip. The arrays, supplemented by nickel-hydrogen batteries during eclipse, provided 1800 watts of power at mission onset, approximately 1280 watts at the end of its seven-year design life. The payload housed 29 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. It could accommodate 15,000 two-way voice circuits and two TV channels simultaneously. It also provided maritime communications for ships at sea.[3]
The satellite was successfully launched into space on 27 January 1989, at 01:21:00 UTC, by means of an Ariane 2 vehicle from the Crentre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou, French Guiana. It had a launch mass of 1981 kg.[4]
From 1 April 1998, the satellite was used by Columbia Communications Corporation and renamed Columbia 515. The Ku-band payload was not used anymore. Columbia Communications was granted the right to operate a C-Band satellite by the FCC as a replacement at the location, 37.8° West. It was deactivated in November 2002.