Hughes Global Services' HGS 1 communications satellite has completed its unique mission to reach geostationary orbit (GEO), via two lunar fly bys, after being stranded in a useless Earth orbit following a launch failure in December 1997. The spacecraft is now available to customers.
The former Asiasat 3, launched aboard a Russian Proton, was declared a total loss and Hughes Global obtained title to the HS601HP spacecraft, built by sister company Hughes Space and Communications (Flight International, 6-12 May).
Using its own propulsion system, the HGS 1 made its first lunar flyby on 13 May and a second on 6 June, using the moon's gravity as a "sling shot", to divert the flightpath. Smaller firings refined the satellite's flightpath and it finally performed a retroburn to place the craft into GEO.
The lunar flyby "-validates the viability of this technique for future missions", says HGS president Ronald Swanson. The satellite, parked in GEO over the Pacific Ocean, is a "-real opportunity for someone to kick start their business with an in-orbit satellite".
Source: Flight International
