| Telstar 303 | |
| Mission Type: | Communications satellite |
| Operator: | AT&T → Loral Skynet |
| Cospar Id: | 1985-048D |
| Satcat: | 15826 |
| Mission Duration: | 10 years (planned) |
| Spacecraft Bus: | LS-1300 |
| Manufacturer: | Hughes Communications |
| Launch Date: | 17 June 1985, 11:33:00 UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Launch Site: | John F. Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Launch Contractor: | Rockwell International |
| Disposal Type: | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated: | 1999 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary orbit |
| Orbit Longitude: | 125° West |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Trans Band: | C-band |
| Trans Coverage: | North America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico |
| Programme: | Telstar |
| Previous Mission: | Telstar 302 |
| Next Mission: | Telstar 401 |
Telstar 303[1] is a U.S. communications satellite launched from during STS-51-G on 17 June 1985. Owned by AT&T and operated by Loral Skynet Hughes Communications, it was one of three Telstar 3 satellites, preceded by Telstar 301 in 1983 and Telstar 302 in 1984.
The satellite served as the U.S. west coast and mid-west home satellite (C-band) with 48 transponders for the ABC network from 1984 to 1993. The CBS network used the satellite from 1985 to 1993. It also served as telephone call transfer for remote areas until 1993.
Other entities that used the satellite included Group W, Wold/Keystone Communications (which used the satellite to feed Paramount Television's syndicated output including Entertainment Tonight,, and), Compact Video, Lorimar-Telepictures, and Warner Bros. Television.
In 1987, Melvin Rosen and Stuart Levin acquired 17 transponders on Telstar 303 satellite for the purpose of creating the first and largest multi-channel pay-per-view satellite TV system to serve the C-band satellite TV market. In 1993, as the satellite was about to retire, a group of business owners including General Instruments, TVN Entertainment, Parallex Data Systems, and Enterprises put together programs systems and home units to bring affordable IPPV (Impulse-Pay-Per-View) and PPV (Pay-per-view) entertainment to the home. Acquiring Telstar 303 required moving it from 125° to 104° West and a little changing of internal code to extend battery life and accept its new job parameters.
The satellite was retired in 1999 and replaced by Telstar 401.[2] All three of the Telstar 4 series satellite met with disaster and are still in orbit in a graveyard orbit.[3]