End of the road for Astra 5A
By Julian Clover
April 16, 2009 08.19 UK
SES Astra has confirmed that its Astra 5A satellite has been successfully de-orbited and switched off.
The former Sirius 2 had been out of service since January this year when a technical anomaly took the craft out of the control of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) that managed the satellite.
A task force from SSC, SES and manufacturer Thales Alenia Space was able to regain control of the satellite, turning it towards the sun, and acquiring enough energy to move it out of geostationary orbit.
Last month SES announced the move of Astra 2C to resume service to the 31.5 degrees East customers that previously used Astra 5A.
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