| SBS 6 | |
| Mission Type: | Communication |
| Operator: | Intelsat |
| Cospar Id: | 1990-091A |
| Satcat: | 20872 |
| Spacecraft: | SBS 6 |
| Spacecraft Bus: | HS-393 |
| Manufacturer: | Hughes |
| Launch Mass: | 2478kg (5,463lb) |
| Bol Mass: | 1484kg (3,272lb) |
| Dimensions: | 3.7x with solar panels and antennas deployed. |
| Power: | 2.2 kW |
| Launch Rocket: | Ariane 44L |
| Launch Site: | Kourou ELA-2 |
| Launch Contractor: | Arianespace |
| Disposal Type: | placed in a graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated: | April 2009 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Inclined geosynchronous |
| Orbit Semimajor: | 42527 km |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 36,127.3 km |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 36,186.6 km |
| Orbit Inclination: | 7.3° |
| Orbit Period: | 1,454.7 minutes |
| Orbit Epoch: | 00:00:00 2016-08-17 |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Trans Band: | Ku band 19 × 45 Mhz /> |
| Trans Bandwidth: | 855 MHz |
| Trans Coverage: | Continental United States |
| Trans Twta: | 41 Watts |
SBS 6 was a geostationary communications satellite designed and manufactured by Hughes (now Boeing) on the HS-393 platform. It was originally ordered by Satellite Business Systems, which later sold it to Hughes Communications and was last used by Intelsat. It had a Ku band payload and operated on the 95°W longitude.
The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by Hughes on the HS-393 satellite bus. It had a launch mass of 2478kg (5,463lb), a mass of 1500kg (3,300lb) after reaching geostationary orbit and an 8-year design life. When stowed for launch, its dimensions were 3.4m (11.2feet) long and 3.7m (12.1feet) in diameter.
With its solar panels fully extended it spanned 10m (30feet). Its power system generated approximately 2,350 Watts of power thanks to two cylindrical solar panels. It also had a two 38Ah NiH2 batteries. These panels used K7 and K4-3/4 solar cells and were more than twice the number than on the HS-376.
Its propulsion system was composed of two R-4D LAE with a thrust of 490N. It also used two axial and four radial 22N bipropellant thrusters for station keeping and attitude control. It included enough propellant for orbit circularization and 8 years of operation.
Its payload was composed of a 2.4m (07.9feet) multi horn antenna by thirty 45 MHz Ku band transponders, of which 19 were active and 11 spares. It had a total active bandwidth of 855 MHz. The Ku band transponders had a TWTA output power of 41 Watts. It also had an omnidirectional command and telemetry antenna.
In 1985 Satellite Business Systems decided to order a more powerful satellite than the HS-376 based previous satellites. Thus, it ordered the HS-393 based SBS 6 from Hughes, becoming the first customer of the platform.
On October 12, 1990, SBS 6 was finally launched by an Ariane 44L from Kourou ELA-2 at 22:58 UTC.
In April 2009, SBS 6 finally decommissioned and put on a graveyard orbit.