Galaxy (satellite) explained

Galaxy
Manufacturer:Hughes Aircraft Company,
Boeing Satellite Systems,
Orbital Sciences Corporation,
Space Systems/Loral,
Alcatel Alenia,
Northrop Grumman
Country:United States
Bus:HS-376, HS-601, BSS-702,
STAR-2, SSL 1300, GEOStar-3
Applications:Communications
Orbits:Geostationary orbit
Operator:INTELSAT
Status:In service
Launched:39
Operational:21
Retired:14
Failed:3
First:28 June 1983
Last:3 August 2023

The Galaxy series is a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by Hughes Communications. It has since merged with PanAmSat and is now owned and operated by Intelsat. As one of the earliest geostationary satellites, Galaxy 1 was launched on 28 June 1983. The latest one, Galaxy 37, was launched on 3 August 2023.

SatelliteManufacturerLaunch VehicleLaunch DateLaunch SiteStateOrbital positionNotes
Galaxy 1Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta (3920)28 June 1983Cape Canaveral, LC-17BRetired on 1 May 1994141.0° West
Galaxy 1RHughes Aircraft CompanyAtlas I22 August 1992Cape Canaveral, LC-36BLaunch failure
Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta II (7925-8)19 February 1994Cape Canaveral, LC-17BRetired on 7 March 2006105.0° WestAlso called Galaxy 1RR
Galaxy 2Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta (3920)22 September 1983Cape Canaveral, LC-17ARetired in May 199443.0° West
Galaxy 3Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta (3920)21 September 1984Cape Canaveral, LC-17BRetired in October 199538.0° West
Galaxy 3RHughes Aircraft CompanyAtlas 2A15 December 1995Cape Canaveral, LC-36AFailed in orbit in March 2006129.0° West
Galaxy 3CHughes Aircraft CompanyZenit-3SL15 June 2002Sea LaunchActive95.0° West
Galaxy 4Hughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 42P+25 June 1993Kourou, ELA-2Failed in orbit in May 199878.0° East
Galaxy 4RHughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 42L19 April 2000Retired in July 2006164.0° East
Galaxy 5Hughes Aircraft CompanyAtlas I14 March 1992Cape Canaveral, LC-36BRetired in January 2005176.0° East
Galaxy 6Hughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 4L12 October 1990Kourou, ELA-2Retired in February 2003 145.0° West
Galaxy 7Hughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 42P+28 October 1992Kourou, ELA-296.0° West
Galaxy 8iHughes Aircraft CompanyAtlas 2AS8 December 1997Cape Canaveral, LC-36BRetired in October 200230.0° East
Galaxy 8iRHughes Aircraft CompanyZenit-3SLCancelled[1]
Galaxy 9Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta II (7925)23 May 1996Cape Canaveral, LC-17BRetired176.0° West
Galaxy 10Hughes Aircraft CompanyDelta III 893027 August 1998Cape Canaveral, LC-17BLaunch failure
Galaxy 10RHughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 42L25 January 2000Kourou, ELA-2Retired in June 2008175.0° West
Galaxy 11Hughes Aircraft CompanyAriane 44L22 December 1999Kourou, ELA-2Active44.0° East
Galaxy 12Orbital Sciences CorporationAriane 5 G9 April 2003Kourou, ELA-3Active129.0° WestWith INSAT-3A
Galaxy 13Hughes Aircraft CompanyZenit-3SL1 October 2003Sea LaunchActive127.0° WestHorizons-1
Galaxy 14Orbital Sciences CorporationSoyuz-FG13 August 2005Baikonur, Site 31/6Active125.0° West
Galaxy 15Orbital Sciences CorporationAriane 5 GS13 October 2005Kourou, ELA-3Active (failure in orbit in April 2010, resolved in 2011)133.0° WestLaunched join with Syracuse 3A
Galaxy 16Space Systems/LoralZenit-3SL18 June 2006Sea LaunchActive99.0° West
Galaxy 17Alcatel Alenia SpaceAriane 5 ECA4 May 2007Kourou, ELA-3Active91.0° WestLaunched with Astra 1L
Galaxy 18Space Systems/LoralZenit-3SL21 May 2008Sea LaunchActive123.0° West
Galaxy 19Space Systems/LoralZenit-3SL24 September 2008Sea LaunchActive97.0° WestEx-Intelsat Americas 9 (IA 9)
Galaxy 23Space Systems/LoralZenit-3SL8 August 2003Sea LaunchActive121.0° WestEx-Telstar 13
Galaxy 25Space Systems/LoralProton-K24 May 1997Baikonur, Site 81/23Active93.0° WestEx-Telstar 5
Galaxy 26Space Systems/LoralProton-K15 February 1999Baikonur, Site 81/23Retired on 7 June 201431.0° WestEx-Telstar 6
Galaxy 27Space Systems/LoralAriane 425 September 1999Kourou, ELA-2Active109.0° EastEx-Telstar 7
Galaxy 28Space Systems/LoralZenit-3SL23 June 2005Sea Launch,
Pacific Ocean		Active89.0° WestEx-Intelsat Americas 8 (IA 8)
Galaxy 30Northrop GrummanAriane 5 ECA15 August 2020Kourou, ELA-3Active125.0° WestLaunched with MEV-2 and BSAT-4b
Galaxy 31Maxar TechnologiesFalcon 9 Block 512 November 2022Cape Canaveral, SLC-40Active121.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 32
Galaxy 32Maxar TechnologiesFalcon 9 Block 512 November 2022Cape Canaveral, SLC-40Active91.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 31
Galaxy 33Northrop GrummanFalcon 9 Block 58 October 2022Cape Canaveral, SLC-40Active133.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 34
Galaxy 34Northrop GrummanFalcon 9 Block 58 October 2022Cape Canaveral, SLC-40Active129.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 33
Galaxy 35Maxar TechnologiesAriane 5 ECA13 December 2022Kourou, ELA-3Active95.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 36 and MTG-I1
Galaxy 36Maxar TechnologiesAriane 5 ECA13 December 2022Kourou, ELA-3Active89.0° WestLaunched with Galaxy 35 and MTG-I1
Galaxy 37Maxar TechnologiesFalcon 9 Block 53 August 2023Cape Canaveral, SLC-40Active127.0° WestAlso known as Horizons-4

External sources

Notes and References

  1. On 15 November 2002, PanAmSat terminated its contract with Boeing Satellite Systems for the Galaxy 8iR satellite that was almost completed, claiming that Boeing did not comply with the terms of the contract, and requested US$72 million from Boeing to repay previous advances and other costs. The satellite was later converted to the ProtoStar 2 satellite, which was released in 2009, and was acquired that same year by SES which renamed it to SES-7.

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