Attachment Grant

Grant

DECISION submitted by FCC

Grant

2009-07-31

This document pretains to SES-STA-20090729-00933 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2009072900933_727938

E980005 SES—STA—20090729—00933 1B200900256{ EchoStar Corporation Approved by OMB 3060—0678 APPLICATION FOR EARTH STATION SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY APPLICANT INFORMATIONEnter a description of this application to identify it on the main menu: Special Temporary Authority to Operate E980005 to De—Orbit EchoStar 5 1. Applicant Name: EchoStar Corporation Phone Number: 303—723—1000 DBA Name: Fax Number: Street: 100 Inverness Terrace East E—Mail: City: Englewood State: cCO Country: USA Zipcode: 80112 — Attention: Linda Kinney —(202)293—0981 U ufu Wm/\s’ *r gee also SBT— sip— 200957 29— C676 mesSES—<TR 20010724—00{33** Call SignC90005_ GrantDate_07/31 /09 (or other identifier) _—. ; : TermDates pericd of 68/0363 To:__ 30 da:p | GRANTED® ? International Burcau | J%fl,agWL% 1 *3uGec to J. Du«) conditions Cl\le( Pohc\tj Brcmc

Attachment to Grant EchoStar Corporation IBFS File Nos. SES—STA—20090729—00932;SES—STA—20090729—00933; SES—STA—20090729—00934; SES—STA—20090729—00935; SES—STA—20090729—00936 July 31, 2009 The above captioned applications of EchoStar Corporation (EchoStar) for special temporary authority, IBFS File No. SES—STA—20090729—00932 et al., ARE GRANTED. Accordingly, EchoStar is authorized for a period of 30 days commencing on August 3, 2009, to perform tracking, telemetry, and command (TT&C) functions with the EchoStar 5 satellite (Call Sign $2658) to execute end—of—life maneuvers boosting the satellite to a disposal orbit above the geostationary arc in accordance with the terms, conditions, and technical specifications set forth in its application, the Commission‘s rules, and the following conditions: 1. EchoStar shall coordinate all orbit raising maneuver TT&C operations with existing geostationary satellites to ensure that no unacceptable interference results from its TT&C operations during its disposal operations. During the disposal operations, no harmful interference shall be caused by EchoStar 5 to any other lawfully operating space station or radio communications system and operations of the EchoStar 5 satellite shall cease immediately upon notification of such interference. EchoStar 5 is required to accept interference from other lawfully operating space stations of radio communications systems. Any action taken or expense incurred as a result of operations pursuant to this special temporary authority is solely at EchoStar‘s own risk. Within 30 days of completion of the end—of—life maneuvers, EchoStar shall send a letter to the Chief, Satellite Division, International Bureau, indicating the apogee and perigee of the EchoStar 5 disposal orbit. In its application, EchoStar indicates that it has begun a "comprehensive review of the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of its propellant preservation measurements across all of its satellite fleet and will work with its partners to add prophylactic measures to the procedures and safeguards if and where appropriate." Narrative at footnote 2. By no later than October 30, 2009, EchoStar shall provide the Chief, Satellite Division, International Bureau, with a written report detailing the results of EchoStar‘s comprehensive review. SEs— sTh — 20080729— 00832 /— oo as3/ | File# — 00334 /- ©o339 /—oog3¢ E020306 298 06605 Call Sign E%g’ S0‘21 Grant Date_O7/31 /04 (or other identifier) A Torm Dates PCO of cRantep* "*°" SeES 4 To oecfods, [ International Bureau Approved: L@M %sub\ied‘ to tephen‘"3. Duaill condifions Chie?€, Policy Branch

2. Contact Name: Pantelis Michalopoulos Phone Number: 202—429—6494 Company: Steptoe & Johnson LLP Fax Number: Street: 1330 Connecticut Ave NW E—Mail: pmichalopoulos@steptoe.com City: Washington State: DC Country: USA Zipcode: 20036 — Attention: Relationship: Legal Counsel (If your application is related to an application filed with the Commission, enter either the file number or the IB Submission ID of the related application. Please enter only one.) 3. Reference File Number or Submission ID 4a. Is a fee submitted with this application? @, If Yes, complete and attach FCC Form 159. If No, indicate reason for fee exemption (see 47 C.ER.Section 1.1114). «4 Governmental Entity ¢3 Noncommercial educational licensee {} Other(please explain): 4b. Fee Classification CGX — Fixed Satellite Transmit/Receive Earth Station 5. Type Request g74 Use Prior to Grant C Change Station Location ) Other 6. Requested Use Prior Date 7. CityCheyenne 8. Latitude (dd mm ss.s h) 41 7 56.4 N

9. State WY 10. Longitude (dd mm ss.s b) 104 44 10.4 W 11. Please supply any need attachments. Attachment 1: Narrative Attachment 2: Attachment 3: 12. Description. (If the complete description does not appear in this box, please go to the end of the form to view it in its entirety.) EchoStar Corporation requests emergency special temporary authority to operate its transmit/receive earth station to provide TT&C services to de—orbit the EchoStar 5 satellite. See attached narrative. 13. By checking Yes, the undersigned certifies that neither applicant nor any other party to the application is Yes 4 No subject to a denial of Federal benefits that includes FCC benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti—Drug Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862, because of a conviction for possession or distribution of a controlled substance. See 47 CFR 1.2002(b) for the meaning of &quot;party to the application&quot; for these purposes. 14. Name of Person Signing 15. Title of Person Signing Linda Kinney Vice President, Law and Regulation WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS MADE ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND / OR IMPRISONMENT (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001), AND/OR REVOCATION OF ANY STATION AUTHORIZATION (U.S. Code, Title 47, Section 312(a)(1)), AND/OR FORFEITURE (U.S. Code, Title 47, Section 503).

FCC NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT The public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the required data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. If you have any comments on this burden estimate, or how we can improve the collection and reduce the burden it causes you, please write to the Federal Communications Commission, AMD—PERM, Paperwork Reduction Project (3060—0678), Washington, DC 20554. We will also accept your comments regarding the Paperwork Reduction Act aspects of this collection via the Internet if you send them to PRA @fce.gov. PLEASE DO NOT SEND COMPLETED FORMS TO THIS ADDRESS. Remember — You are not required to respond to a collection of information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may not conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number orif we fail to provide you with this notice. This collection has been assigned an OMB control number of 3060—0678. THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995, PUBLIC LAW 104—13, OCTOBER 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. SECTION 3507.

Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 No N N N N Nt N Nt N Nt Nt Ne Ne Nt Nt N N) NT N/ File No. SAT—STA—2009 — Call Sign $2658 File No. SES—STA—2009_____— Call Sign E020306 In the Matter of: File No. SES—STA—2009____— ECHOSTAR SATELLITE OPERATING L.L.C. Call Sign E980005 Application for Emergency Special File No. SES—STA—2009____— Temporary Authority to De—Orbit the Call Sign E070014 EchoStar 5 Satellite from 147.925° W.L. File No. SES—STA—2009 — Call Sign E980081 File No. SES—STA—2009 — Call Sign E980082 APPLICATION FOR EMERGENCY SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY Pursuant to Section 25.120 of the Commission‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. §25.120, EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C. ("DISH") requests emergency special temporary authority ("STA") for a period of 30 days to (1) de—orbit its EchoStar 5 satellite from its current location at 147.925° W.L., and (2) perform telemetry, tracking and command ("TT&C") functions with EchoStar 5 during the de—orbiting operations. Because managing EchoStar 5s rapidly depleting propellant levels is essential to obtaining as high a disposal orbit as possible, DISH requests authority to begin de—orbiting on August 3, 2009, to allow de—orbit procedures to begin that evening. The root cause of the problem that requires de—orbiting is unique to the EchoStar 5 satellite: use of the satellite‘s momentum wheels was lost irretrievably in 2003. That in turn had a chain reaction effect. The satellite‘s engines had to be fired repeatedly to keep the satellite

properly oriented. Not only did this require greater propellant expenditure, but it caused the bookkeeping method for gauging propellant consumption to underestimate the propellant used and overestimate the propellant left even taking into account the additional propellant usage caused by the momentum wheels impairment.‘ DISH discovered this modeling discrepancy just days ago when yet another propellant consumption safety precaution — a test of the thermal capacity of the remaining propellant — was executed. Specifically, this additional thermal gauging technique highlighted the disparity with the other methods. This led to a more detailed analysis by DISH, its sister company EchoStar Corporation and Telesat Canada, which flies the satellite under EchoStar and DISH*s direction. The collective results of that review completed this week make this request necessary. Prior to this most recent test, DISH projected that there was approximately 70 kg of propellant remaining on EchoStar 5, which would have provided sufficient reserves to allow operations for at least another year at its existing orbital location." As previously reported to the Commission, DISH ‘ In addition to the bookkeeping method, DISH also generally applies the Pressure Volume Temperature ("PVT") modeling technique as a separate monitor on satellite propellant consumption. However, errors in its application contributed to the overestimation of available propellant. * DISH recently completed the relocation of the EchoStar 5 satellite from the 129° W.L. to its present location. See EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C., File No. SAT—A/O—20081003— 00215 (granted Feb. 3, 2009); see also Letter to Robert Nelson, Chief, Satellite Division, FCC, from Petra A. Vorwig, Counsel for EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C., dated June 18, 2009 (notifying the Bureau that EchoStar 5 began operations at 148° W.L. on June 16). Based on available calculations at the time of the application and the move, DISH had no reason to believe that the satellite‘s end of life was imminent, or that propellant reserves were too low. If DISH were aware of the depleted propellant state, DISH would not have sought permission to move the satellite from 129° W.L., and would have retired the satellite from that orbital location. Out of an abundance of caution, and as part of a broader review of fuel consumptions safeguards, DISH will seek to ensure its internal policies and procedures, as well as those of its contractors, include appropriate checks, including prophylactic measures, prior to the redeployment of satellites to new orbital locations. More generally, while preliminary results suggest that calculation errors were primarily the result of the loss of EchoStar 5‘s momentum wheels, DISH has begun a _2 _

had budgeted approximately 7 kg of propellant for end—of—life maneuvers." DISH now believes that there is approximately 20 kg of total propellant on EchoStar 5, including both fuel and oxidizer. There is, however, no reliable means to pinpdint the exact proportion of each propellant. DISH has, therefore, concluded out of an abundance of caution that the satellite, currently located at 147.925° W.L.,* has reached the end of its useful life. DISH estimates that there should be sufficient propellant remaining on the satellite to achieve a safe disposal orbit if the process begins as soon as practicable. DISH‘s goal is to reach a final disposal orbit of at least 300 km above its operational geostationary orbit, and will dispense all available propellants in its efforts to achieve that orbit. This proposed disposal orbit altitude exceeds the minimum required by Section 25.283 of the Commission‘s rules, which is calculated below. 47 C.F.R. §25.283. The input data required for the calculation is as follows: Total Solar Pressure Area "A" = 70.4 m(includes area of solar array, satellite body and deployed antennas) ""M" = Mass at time of deorbit = 1500.6 kg "Cr" = Solar Pressure Radiation Coefficient = 1.37 Using the formula given in Section 25.283 of the Commussion‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. §25.283, the Minimum Disposal Orbit Perigee Altitude is calculated as follows: comprehensive review of the effectiveness and comprehensiveness of its propellant preservation measurements across all of its satellite fleet and will work with its partners to add prophylactic measures to the procedures and safeguards if and where appropriate. *‘ See EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C., File No. SAT—A/O—20081003—00215, Technical Annex, at 8—9 (filed Oct. 3, 2008). * See Stamp Grant, File No. SAT—A/O—20081003—00215 (granted Feb. 3, 2009) (granting authority to operate EchoStar 5 at 148° W.L. See also Stamp Grant, File No. SAT—MOD— 20090430—00048 (granted July 8, 2009) (authorizing DISH to operate EchoStar 5 at 147.925° W.L.).

= 36,021 km + 1000 x Cg x A/m 36,021 km + 1000 x 1.37 x 70.4/1500.6 II II 36,085 km = 299 km above GSO (35,786 km) Thus, the designated disposal orbit of 300 km above geostationary orbit exceeds the required minimum by a margin of 1 km. Upon discovery of the need for an emergency de—orbit, DISH has taken steps to ensure that our residential subscriber base is not adversely affected by the loss of service from 148° W.L." DISH has begun the process of migrating programming and content from EchoStar 5 to other satellites in our fleet, including, but not limited to, the Ciel 2 satellite, which has spot beam capabilities. Currently, the EchoStar 5 satellite is used primarily for the delivery of local services to the three markets in the western United States, and commercial services for businesses. The process of shifting programming to other satellites in DISH‘s fleet may require repointing or replacing consumer satellite dishes for affected subscribers. DISH will provide any necessary new equipment to these subscribers free of charge. The potential disruption to consumers will be significantly reduced because the process of moving these local markets to a different orbital location was underway prior to the discovery of the need to de—orbit. DISH ° DISH is also exploring potential replacement satellites for 148° W.L., which has proven to be an important part of DISH‘s ability to provide complementary and niche services to consumers over time, including local services, international programming, and business programming. DISH and its partners plan to launch two new satellites this year, which provides two potential satellites available for future redeployment to 148° W.L. DISH will provide the Commission with greater detail on a long—term replacement plan at a later date.

calculates that over 96 percent of affected subscribers in those three markets will be able to receive their local broadcast stations from the new satellite locations.© Grant of this application will not cause harmful interference to other satellites. During the relocation, regular DBS transmissions on the EchoStar 5 satellite will remain switched off, and only TT&C operations will be performed with the satellite. During relocation, DISH will operate EchoStar 5 in accordance with the following conditions: e DISH will coordinate its TT&C operations with all potentially affected operating satellite networks. e No harmful interference will be caused to any lawfully operating satellite network or radiocommunication system, and DISH operations will cease immediately upon notification of harmful interference. Further, DISH shall notify the Commission immediately of such an event. e DISH will use good faith efforts to reach a disposal orbit of at least 300 km above its operational geostationary orbit. e DISH will ensure that all energy sources on the EchoStar 5 satellite are depleted upon completion of de—orbit maneuvers. The batteries will be left in a permanent state of discharge, chemical propulsion systems will be depleted and the electrical propulsion system will be disabled. e DISH will notify the Commission within five business days of completing de— obit maneuvers reporting and detailing the final disposal orbit. © Virtually all subscribers that live outside the applicable spot beam reside in a single county in Wyoming that is non—contiguous to the rest of the local market. DISH will continue to explore potential long—term solutions to provide coverage to all subscribers.

Grant of this application is in the public interest because it will ensure the safe de—orbit of the EchoStar 5 satellite with minimal disruption to DISH subscribers. DISH respectfully requests that the Commission grant the requested emergency special temporary authority to de— orbit EchoStar 5 from the nominal 148° W.L. orbital location. Respectfully submitted, Is/ Linda Kinney Pantelis Michalopoulos Linda Kinney Petra A. Vorwig Vice President, Law and Regulation Steptoe & Johnson LLP Brad Gillen 1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Director and Senior Counsel Washington, D.C. 20036 DISH Network LLC (202) 429—3000 1233 20th Street, N.W. Suite 302 Washington, DC 20036—2396 (202) 293—0981 Counselfor EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C. July 29, 2009


Document Created: 2019-04-19 18:57:41
Document Modified: 2019-04-19 18:57:41
© 2024 FCC.report
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FCC