Astra 2G is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES, launched to the Astra 28.2°E orbital position on 27 December 2014, at 21:37:49 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome.[2]
Astra 2G is positioned at 28.5° East (part of the Astra 28.2°E orbital position) and is the last of three "second generation" satellites launched to this position to replace the first generation Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Astra 2C and Astra 2D satellites originally positioned there between 1998 and 2001, and it joined Astra 2E and Astra 2F launched in 2013 and 2012, respectively.[3]
Astra 2G carries both Ku-band and Ka-band payloads and will deliver broadcast, VSAT and broadband services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and will also provide the ability to connect West Africa to Europe via Ka-band.[4] The Astra 28.2° East position was established in 1998 to provide digital television, digital radio and multimedia services to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a major part of Astra 2G's mission is to continue, extend and backup this provision. Along with Astra 2E and Astra 2F it will deliver programming to almost 13 million satellite homes, over 3 million cable homes, and 700,000 Internet Protocol television (IPTV_ homes in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in particular for channels from the major United Kingdom digital satellite television platforms, BSkyB and Freesat.
Astra 2G also supports SATMED, a satellite-based e-health platform developed by SES and supported by the Luxembourg Government and the Ministry for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action which enables communication between doctors, enabling the transfer and exchange of medical knowledge and supporting tools for medical e-learning and e-teaching to improve public health in emerging and developing countries, particularly in isolated areas.[2]
Astra 2G has three Ku-band downlink beams and one Ka-band beam:[4]
The launch of Astra 2G was intended to be from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by International Launch Services (ILS) Proton-M launch vehicle a month earlier, on 28 November 2014 but technical problems with the launch vehicle caused it to be rolled back from the launch pad to undergo a component replacement. The satellite had arrived at Baikonur on 29 October 2014 after a delayed flight from Europe - an emergency landing of the transport aircraft in the city of Ulyanovsk due to engine trouble required replacement of the aircraft's engine and a two-day delay.[6]
Finally launched successfully on 27 December 2014, at 21:37:49 UTC,[7] the satellite was initially positioned at 21.0° East for three months and then tested at 43.5° East,[8][9] before moving to the Astra 28.2° East position in June 2015.[10]
On 18 June 2015, the first six channels, including ITV and Channel 4, began broadcasting from Astra 2G,[11] transferred from Astra 2E, Astra 2F and, in particular from Eutelsat 28A, which was some two years beyond its expected end-of-life and operating with some transponders considerably under power.[12] The final Eutelsat 28A channels, including the Freesat EPG data channel, transferred to Astra 2G on 29 June 2015.[13]
Below is a list of the television channels broadcast to the UK and Ireland from active transponders on Astra 2G as of July 2024[update]:[14]
UK Beam
Tp61 11.023 GHz H 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:
Tp63 11.053 GHz H 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:
Tp64 11.068 GHz V 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:
Tp66 11.097 GHz V 23000 3/4 DVB-S2:
Tp68 11.126 GHz V 22000 5/6:
European Beam
Tp62 11.038 GHz V 23000 2/3 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp65 11.082 GHz H 23000 2/3:
Tp67 11.112 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp69 11.141 GHz H 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp105 11.224 GHz H 27500 2/3:
Tp106 11.224 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Great! Romance Ireland
Tp107 11.264 GHz H 27500 2/3 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp108 11.264 GHz V 27500 2/3:
Tp91 11.494 GHz H 22000 5/6:
Tp92 11.509 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp93 11.523 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp95 11.553 GHz H 22000 5/6:
Tp96 11.568 GHz V 22000 5/6:
Tp97 11.582 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp98 11.597 GHz V 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp99 11.612 GHz H 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp100 11.627 GHz V 22000 5/6 (encrypted in VideoGuard):
Tp101 11.641 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp102 11.650 GHz V 22000 5/6 DVB-S2:
Tp103 11.671 GHz H 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
Tp104 11.686 GHz V 23000 2/3 DVB-S2:
