Supplemental Letter SUPPLEMENT by Yazmi USA, LLC SAT-MOD-20141212-00129 2015-02-05 TMG Yazmi

2015-02-05 TMG Yazmi

SUPPLEMENT submitted by Yazmi USA, LLC

Supplemental Letter

2015-02-05

This document pretains to SAT-MOD-20141212-00129 for Modification on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATMOD2014121200129_1076084

Ms.
Marlene
H.
Dortch

Secretary,
FCC

February
5,
2015

Page
2
of
4

3. Is
Movement
to
Another
Satellite
Orbit
Expected?:

Yazmi
has
no
current
plans
or
proposals
to
relocate
AfriStar-‐1
from
its
current

orbital
position
at
21°
East
Longitude
("E.L.").

As
Yazmi
reported
in
Exhibit
A
to

its
above-‐reference
modification
of
license
application
for
Call
Sign
S2367,
Yazmi

intends
to

permanently
discontinue
north-‐south
station
keeping
for
AfriStar-‐1

at
the
end
of
March,
2015,
thereby
extending
the
satellite’s
useful
life
through

April
2021.

The
satellite
is
currently
maintained
at
1.7
degrees
of
inclination

following
a
prior
suspension
of
north-‐south
station
keeping
from
June
2012
to

July
2014.

See
Response
No.
6,
below.

Yazmi
will
provide
the
Commission
notice

of
the
planned
new
station-‐keeping
change
in
the
manner
specified
in
Section

25.280
of
the
Commission’s
Rules
at
the
appropriate
time.

4. Has
there
been
any
failure
on
the
satellite
during
its
term
of
operation?:

AfriStar-‐1
was
launched
with
a
manufacturing
defect
in
its
solar
panels,
resulting

in
the
panels
collecting
less
power
than
intended.

Aside
from
the
solar
array
degradation,
which
is
accounted
for
in
the
service-‐life

estimate
above,
the
satellite
has
experienced
the
following
two
equipment

failures:

1. One
of
the
satellite
thrusters
has
developed
seepage
and
is
no
longer
in
use.

The
satellite
is
being
operated
under
the
redundant
thruster
configuration.

2. An
infrared
earth
sensor
has
failed,
and
the
redundant
unit
is
in
use.

As
both
equipment
failures
have
been
mitigated,
the
satellite
subsystems
remain

fully
functional.

There
has
been
no
failure
of
the
satellite
during
its
term
of
operation.

5. What
is
the
cumulative
solar
array
power
performance?

From
the
first
summer
solstice
after
launch,
i.e.,
June
1999,
until
June
2014,
the

available
solar
array
power
has
decreased
from
an
estimated
5,200W
to

approximately
4,200W.

From
June
2013
to
June
2014,
the
available
solar
array
power
has
reduced
from

4,235W
to
4,207W,
i.e.,
0.66%
~
1%.

Ms.
Marlene
H.
Dortch

Secretary,
FCC

February
5,
2015

Page
3
of
4

6. What
is
the
different
in
calculation
in
the
current
application
from
the
2008

modification?

Have
there
been
any
changes
in
the
propellant
or
in
the
orbital

degree?

In
reviewing
the
2008
and
2014
modification
of
applications
(File
Nos.
SAT-‐
MOD-‐20080204-‐00036
and
SAT-‐MOD-‐20141212-‐00129,
respectively),
Yazmi

noticed
a
common
error
in
both
calculations.

Specifically,
although
Yazmi
used

the
same
formula
in
each
calculation,
the
“mass”
parameter
in
the
formula
was

incorrect
in
both
instances.

In
the
2008
modification
of
license
application,
the
mass
parameter
was
stated

as
being
1250
kg,
and
in
the
above-‐referenced
2014
modification
of
license

application
it
is
stated
as
being
1279
kg.

The
correct
mass
parameter
to
apply
in

both
cases
was
the
dry
mass
of
the
satellite
as
given
by
the
satellite

manufacturer,
namely
1209.93
kg.

When
the
correct
“mass”
parameter
is
inserted
into
the
formula,
the
minimum

increase
in
de-‐orbiting
altitude
becomes
291.6
km,
and
the
final
disposal
altitude

as
per
Section
25.283
of
the
Commission’s
Rules
shall
be
36,021
km
+
291.6
km

=

36,312.6
km.

Yazmi
estimates
the
amount
of
propellant
kept
in
reserve
(~6

kg)
would
allow
the
de-‐orbiting
altitude
to
exceed
the
computed
minimum.

As
of
this
date,
AfriStar-‐1
is
stationkept
to
the
parameters
(both
east-‐west
and

north-‐south)
in
its
authorization.

From
June
2012
until
July
2014,
Yazmi

suspended
north-‐south
station
keeping
on
AfriStar-‐1,
which
resulted
in
a
current

spacecraft
inclination
of
1.7
degrees.

Station
keeping
in
the
north-‐south

direction
was
resumed
on
July
6,
2014.

As
noted
above,
Yazmi
intends
to
again

cease
north-‐south
station
keeping
for
AfriStar-‐1
at
the
end
of
March,
2015,
and

will
provide
the
Commission
notice
of
this
change
in
the
manner
specified
in

Section
25.280
of
the
Commission’s
Rules
at
the
appropriate
time.

7. The
application
states
that
Yazmi
is
using
Intelsat
for
its
TTC.

Are
they

transmitting
from
US
earth
stations?

If
so,
to
include
the
call
signs
for
those.

In
Exhibit
A
to
its
above-‐reference
modification
of
license
application
for
Call

Sign
S2367,
Yazmi
stated
that
TT&C
transmissions
to
AfriStar-‐1
originate
from

Intelsat’s
East
Coast
Operations
Center
in
Tysons
Corner,
Virginia,
and
from
the

redundant
Intelsat
West
Coast
Operations
Center
in
Long
Beach,
California.

The

actual
earth
stations
used
to
make
the
TT&C
transmissions
are
located
in

Mauritius
and
Bangalore,
India,
respectively.

The
earth
stations
are
operated

remotely
by
Intelsat
from
its
U.S.
operations
centers.

Document Created: 0610-04-18 00:00:00
Document Modified: 0610-04-18 00:00:00

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