| EchoStar II | |
| Mission Type: | Communications |
| Operator: | EchoStar |
| Cospar Id: | 1996-055A |
| Satcat: | 24313 |
| Mission Duration: | 12 years |
| Spacecraft Bus: | AS-7000 |
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed Martin |
| Dry Mass: | 2000kg (4,000lb) |
| Launch Mass: | 2885kg (6,360lb) |
| Power: | 7 kW |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Ariane-42P H10-3 |
| Launch Site: | Kourou ELA-2 |
| Orbit Epoch: | November 28, 2017[1] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 35764.4km (22,223miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 35787.2km (22,237.1miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 7.1 degrees |
| Orbit Semimajor: | 42146km (26,188miles) |
| Orbit Period: | 1,435.2 minutes |
| Orbit Longitude: | 80° West (current position) |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Trans Band: | 16 |
| Trans Frequency: | Uplink: 17.3 - 17.8 GHz Downlink: 12.2 - 12.7 GHz |
| Trans Bandwidth: | 24 MHz |
| Trans Coverage: | Contiguous United States |
| Trans Eirp: | 53 dBW |
EchoStar II is a communications satellite operated by EchoStar. Launched in 1996 it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 148 degrees west for 12 or 15 years.
The launch of EchoStar I made use of an Ariane 4 rocket flying from Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. The launch took place at 00:59 UTC on September 11, 1996,[2] with the spacecraft entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The spacecraft carried 16 Ku band transponders to enable direct broadcast communications and television channels through dishes on the ground in the Contiguous United States.[3]
From September 1996 to November 2001, it was at position 118.8° W, while from December 2001 until July 2008, it was at position 148° W. The satellite ended its activities on July 14, 2008.