23846 - MSAT M1

M-SAT 1 was a Canadian geostationary mobile telephone communications satellite launched by an Ariane 42P rocket from the Kourou Space Center to serve the North American continent. The spacecraft and its transponders are very similar to those of the American AMSC 1. It had the capability to support 2000 radio channels in L-band. The footprint covered the entire continental US and Canada, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 200 mile of US and Canadian coastal waters. It was one of the first satellites to use Hughes' springback antennas, flexible 17-foot-by-22-foot ovals made of graphite.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1996-04-20
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 42P
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana