Attachment Grant

Grant

DECISION submitted by FCC

Grant

2009-07-31

This document pretains to SES-STA-20090729-00934 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2009072900934_727937

                                         E070014        SES—STA—20090729—00934         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 E070014 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:                                    CO
           Country:     USA                                   Zipcode:                                  80112        —
           Attention:   Linda Kinney —(202)293—0981




                                                                                 WGitn LondGins                                     se t
                                                                                         A                       —        +




                                                                                                                                     SBT—3m—20080723—001§
                                                                         | mesSES<TR2OCGqp2H—00] 34**
                                                                         Qnsbml(hmm o7/31/03
                                                                         (orotheridentifier) —
                                                                                                   TermDates period of
                                                                         From_C08/03/
                                                                                S5/03/09
                                                                                      03_                       30 days

                                               [ International Bureau   | Approved:          '         /z&u;;
                                               *¥Sobjec}     to                                  Sfedbeén T. Duall
                                                       condifions                                 chmef, Poficy Branch


                                 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/
                                                             | Filks — 00334 /— 069435 /— 0093(
                                                                         E020306
                                                                         E98 00605
                                                              Call Sign Eg 83551 Grant Date_ O7/31 /09
                                                              (or other identifier)
                                                                                      Torm Dates perleciof

                                       cnantep*® |°88e3                                     m 2223
                                  L International Bureau_|   Approved:        f             o@b&l(/é/
                                   *f-‘sub\jec‘f tg                                   teppen‘"3"Dua‘ll
                                         condifions                                    ‘hie€, Poh(_-\,j 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        @4 Noncommercial educational licensee
«7y Other(please explain):

4b. Fee Classification    CGX — Fixed Satellite Transmit/Receive Earth Station

5. Type Request

{74 Use Prior to Grant                            y Change Station Location                           ) Other


6. Requested Use Prior Date


7. CityGilbert                                                             8. Latitude
                                                                           (dd mmss.s h)    33   22    0.8    N


9. State   AZ                                                              10. Longitude
                                                                           (dd mm ss.s h)     111   48    54.7   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
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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 or if we fail to provide you with this notice. This
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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




                                                 N N N N Ne Ne Ne Nt Nt Nt Nt Nt ut Nt Nuut Ned Ns Ns Nt
                                                                                                           File No. SAT—STA—2009     =_0____
                                                                                                           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     =0_
                                                                                                           Call Sign E980081

                                                                                                           File No. SES—STA—2009     ~10_
                                                                                                           Call Sign E980082



      APPLICATION FOR EMERGENCY SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY

       Pursuant to Section 25.120 of the Commission‘s rules, 47 C.E.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 £he

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 atthe 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 pinpoint 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 ofits 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 Commission‘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       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 l 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 Commussion 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,

                                                    /s/ 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



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Document Modified: 2019-05-24 12:32:27

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