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TS News - PAS-6 Launch Rescheduled




TELE-satellit News, 5 May 1997

PAS-6 Launch Rescheduled
  NEW YORK, New York, USA, 97/05/05 (TS) -- PanAmSat Corp. has announced
that the launch of its PAS-6 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite has been
rescheduled for late summer 1997. The delay is at the recommendation of
makers Space Systems/Loral, which is investigating changes to the power
systems on the craft.

  The companies said, "PanAmSat's decision to reschedule the PAS-6 launch
is in response to Space Systems/Loral's ongoing investigation into the
cause of a power decrease on another Space Systems/Loral spacecraft with a
similar power system.  Space Systems/Loral will continue to investigate the
cause of that anomaly, identify potential fixes to the power system and
integrate those changes, if any, into the PAS-6 satellite.  Arianespace,
the PAS-6 launch provider, has indicated its ability to accommodate the
revised PAS-6 launch timetable."

  PAS-6 is an FS-1300 model satellite with 36 Ku-band transponders. It will
be launched to 43 degrees West Longitude. Problems with the power systems
have already caused a delay in launch. In November 1996, PanAmSat announced
that Space Systems/Loral would replace the power control units on PAS-6,
resulting in a three-month delay in spacecraft completion.  PAS-6 was
subsequently shipped in March 1997 to Arianespace's launch facility in
French Guiana. The further delay indicates problems with the power systems
on these crafts are obviously more serious than originally thought.



(c)TELE-satellit 1997. All rights reserved.


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