ETS 8

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ETS 8 is classified as:

Geostationary

NORAD ID: 29656

Int'l Code: 2006-059A

Perigee: 36,113.8 km

Apogee: 36,190.3 km

Inclination: 10.5 °

Period: 1,454.4 minutes

Semi major axis: 42523 km

RCS: 11 m² (large)

Launch date: December 18, 2006
Source: Japan (JPN)
Launch site: TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER (TNSTA)

ETS 8 (KIKU NO. 8) will be permanently located in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles over the Equator at 146 degrees East longitude, where it will match the Earth's rotation and appear to hover directly above the Pacific Ocean near New Guinea. The spacecraft carries a pair of solar array wings and two large reflector antennas, which will both span more than 130 feet tip-to-tip when deployments are complete. Each antenna has dimensions of about 62 feet by 56 feet, or about the area of a tennis court, according to JAXA. ETS 8 will be able to directly communicate with hand-held devices modeled after cell phones and computers. JAXA developed two units specifically for use in tests with ETS 8 - a tiny phone-like unit and a portable device similar to a laptop computer. This is Japan's largest satellite.

1 29656U 06059A   24325.06995397 -.00000197  00000-0  00000-0 0  9990
2 29656  10.4722  43.7670 0008994 188.2035 157.8497  0.99006949 65345

Source of the keplerian elements: AFSPC