There isnt any new info at the pub right now. There arent a whole of of details. just speculation by looking at the uplink reports.
AMC 14 Satellite Launch Failure - What now for Dish?
- Thread starter darrencp22
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Open your umbrella.
Wallops Island has 2 problems:
1. They are limited in the size of launcher they can handle right now.
2. They are located further from the equator than say, Cape Canaveral.
Payloads are built for certain launchers that are meant for certain locations. The closer you are to the equator, the greater mass a launcher can lift into orbit. Simple physics.
Plus, a satellite doesn't just fit onto any launcher. There are mating concerns. ILS has done work on making the connection as common as possible for their Proton and Atlas launchers. But you don't just take a payload off a Proton and slap it onto a Sea Launch, for example. The physical and electrical connections are different. Plus, the vibrations, G forces and other conditions experienced during launch vary from launcher to launcher, making some launchers unsuitable for some satellites. To beat that to death, a human rated launcher has far greater reliability and redundancy but also, generally, less vibration and sometimes lower G forces.
It doesn't matter if Wallops is available, anyway. The constraints aren't usually regarding the availability of a launch site. It's the availability of the launcher itself. These rockets aren't just kept on the shelf, they're built to order. The only exception to this that I know of, for commercial satellite launches, where rockets were built on an assembly line and actually warehoused, was - ta da - the Proton. And even they don't do that any more. Matter of economics.
Yep, I agree. Of course Dish/Echostar/SES/ILS etc all have plan B, and C and every foreseeable contingency has been considered. It is amusing that some people post that these massive corporations are winging it. And they're certainly not going to help their competition by revealing their plans any earlier than they have to.
Open your umbrella.
Wallops Island has 2 problems:
1. They are limited in the size of launcher they can handle right now.
2. They are located further from the equator than say, Cape Canaveral.
I've not checked the specs between the two, but Wallops can handle Minitaurs, but I believe they are considerably smaller than the proton. 2 went from here last year w/ satellites.
These satellites also push the limits on payload capacity. They want as much fuel as possible to increase satellite life. The arrary of dishes also are challenging size wise. They have to all fold up to fit in the rocket then you hope they can unfold successfully (unlike E4 did). As sealaunch and proton increase their payload capacities the satellites go right on up in size too.
The minotaur is miniscule in comparison to the Proton (and other Rockets that carry communications satellites). Wallops doesnt have the capability to support large rockets.
The Minotaur can lift a 500-1000lb satellite into a transfer orbit...AMC-14 weighed 9000lb+...It wouldnt even clear the launch pad with that baby on top....
Scott's report of the Special Retail chat
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...cial-retailer-chat-recap-march-18-2008-a.html
look like good news.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...cial-retailer-chat-recap-march-18-2008-a.html
look like good news.
You're very oddly rolling at least 3 different issues into 1. What I was responding to was what I thought was a very common misunderstanding of the 2009 broadcast digital mandate. The FCC and NAB have done a piss-poor job of explaining what it means. The person to whom I was replying, clairified. However, now you're combining multiple issues into a single one. There will indeed be an increase in the number of channels carried IF the FCC demands that Dish carry all subchannels. However, you are also assuming that Dish will be forced to carry all HD feeds of every channel in every local market they provide. This is not the case. In markets where they provide HD locals, they don't even provide all the availible HD locals. For example, the San Francisco Bay Area market, is one of the larger ones, but they only carry 4 of the many channels which broadcast HD feeds. Also, you're claiming that a local broadcaster will be providing multiple subchannels in HD. They simply do not have the bandwidth to do that. Unless the broadcaster compresses the HD feeds so far beyond HD lite, that they hardly qualify as HD, you aren't going to get 6 HD subchannels from an OTA broadcaster. For example, in the Sacramento, CA market, the local PBS affiliate has 4 subchannels. When they start showing HD programming in the evening, they drop 2 of the subchannels. That clear some things up for you?
Dish and DIRECTV will lose the battle like they did before. They will eventually be forced to carry all the HD channels in a market. They will probably also be forced to carry sub channels. There are way too many rich companies in the broadcasting world with powerful ties to Washington. Just like with SD LiL it will only be a matter of time before something will be mandated.
Right now Dish/DIRECTV are trying to delay the process as much as possible to be able to get capacity up. DIRECTV may have capacity in the air after the next launch but on the ground they would need a lot more fiber.
Right now Dish/DIRECTV are trying to delay the process as much as possible to be able to get capacity up. DIRECTV may have capacity in the air after the next launch but on the ground they would need a lot more fiber.
Exactly. It may be an eventuality, but it isn't imminent, and certainly not tied to the 2009 analog shutoff date.
