September 5, 2017 - China Launches Communication Satellite

You're not looking at a Chinese satellite launch from September 5, 2017. The launch you're thinking of is AsiaSat 9, a Hong Kong-operated communications satellite that lifted off on September 28, 2017, aboard a Russian Proton-M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Built by Space Systems/Loral, it weighs 6,140 kg and serves Asia-Pacific with powerful C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band transponders. There's much more to uncover about this mission.

Key Takeaways

• AsiaSat 9, a communications satellite for Hong Kong-based AsiaSat, launched aboard a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket on September 28, 2017.
• The launch occurred from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, managed by International Launch Services (ILS).
• AsiaSat 9 was built by Space Systems/Loral on the SSL 1300E platform, weighing 6,140 kg at separation.
• The satellite replaced AsiaSat 4 at the 122.2° East orbital slot, reaching full operational status by November 27, 2017.
• AsiaSat 9 carries C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band transponders, serving Asia, the Middle East, and Australasia.

What Rocket and Satellite Launched on September 28, 2017?

On September 28, 2017, a Proton-M rocket lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 06:04 UTC, carrying the AsiaSat 9 communications satellite into orbit. The Proton M Launch marked another milestone for International Launch Services (ILS), with the vehicle flying in its Proton-M/Briz-M configuration from Launch Pad 39 at Site 81/24.

You'll find the AsiaSat9 Deployment particularly noteworthy because Space Systems/Loral (SSL) built the satellite for Hong Kong-based operator AsiaSat. The Briz-M upper stage performed multiple burns before separating from AsiaSat 9 after 8 hours and 38 minutes. The satellite then headed toward its geostationary orbit at 122.2° East, where it would expand C- and Ku-band services across the Asia-Pacific region. Khrunichev reported no anomalies throughout the mission. Live coverage and countdown updates for the launch were provided by Stephen Clark, offering real-time reporting through Spaceflight Now and an ILS video feed that began at approximately 1830 GMT.

Earlier that year, a Proton-M/Briz-M vehicle had successfully placed Echostar 21 into geosynchronous orbit on 8 June, demonstrating the continued reliability of this launch configuration throughout 2017. Adobe's own industry transformation during this era mirrored the aerospace sector's evolution, as the company's subscription model pivot in the early 2010s similarly reshaped how creative professionals accessed essential tools on an ongoing basis.

AsiaSat 9's Technical Specs: Weight, Transponders, and Design Life

With AsiaSat 9 now safely in orbit, it's worth examining what makes this satellite such a capable platform. Built on SSL's 1300E bus, it weighs 6,140 kg at separation and carries an impressive transponder lineup supporting C-, Ku-, and Ka-band services.

Its 28 C-band transponders deliver the highest TWTA power in Asia-Pacific at 110 watts, while 32 Ku-band transponders operate at 200 watts across five regional beams. The Ka-band payload doubles bit/Hz efficiency compared to its predecessor, strengthening DTH, video, and broadband services.

The power architecture relies on two deployable solar arrays, onboard batteries, and Hall Effect Thrusters for efficient station-keeping. A star tracker boosts pointing accuracy by 20%. Combined, these features support impressive satellite longevity, with a design life exceeding 15 years. The satellite was launched aboard a Proton-M / Briz-M rocket, providing the lift capacity necessary to place this heavy platform into its intended orbit.

AsiaSat 9 was designed to replace the aging AsiaSat 4, taking over its predecessor's role in delivering reliable communications services across the Asia-Pacific region from the 122.2° East orbital slot.

Why the Proton-M With Breeze M Upper Stage Was Selected?

AsiaSat chose the Proton-M with Breeze-M upper stage for a straightforward reason: it's a proven workhorse that could reliably deliver a 6,140 kg satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The vehicle's 6.27 metric ton GTO capacity provided comfortable payload margins, ensuring AsiaSat 9 had room to spare.

Propulsion reliability factored heavily into the decision. The Breeze-M's five-burn firing sequence delivered precise orbital insertion, while its restartable engine handled complex trajectory corrections with efficiency. ILS brought extensive mission management experience, and Baikonur's established infrastructure kept costs competitive.

You'd also note that the Proton-M's recovery from a 2016 engine shutdown incident actually reinforced confidence in its redundancy systems. That operational resilience, combined with multiple successful 2017 commercial missions, made it the logical choice for a high-value telecommunications asset. AsiaSat-9 was built by Space Systems Loral, a California-based manufacturer known for producing capable telecommunications satellites for demanding orbital deployments.

The Proton-M had accumulated significant heritage by the time of AsiaSat 9's launch, with the configuration reaching its 100th launch milestone in 2017 since first being introduced in 2001, underscoring the rocket's maturity and reliability as a commercial launch vehicle. Much like how the Bell 101 demonstrated that existing telephone infrastructure could reliably carry digital data, the Proton-M proved that established launch systems could meet the demands of modern high-value payloads, with both technologies validating proven infrastructure reliability as a cornerstone of commercial adoption.

Where AsiaSat 9 Launched From and How It Reached Geostationary Orbit

From Pad 39 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan's Central Asian steppes, the Proton-M lifted off at 00:52:16 local time on 29 September 2017, marking ILS's third commercial Proton mission of the year. This historic Launch Site has served as the primary departure point for Proton vehicles since 1965, with this mission representing the rocket's 416th launch.

Nine hours and thirteen minutes after liftoff, the Breeze M upper stage completed its five-burn sequence, successfully separating AsiaSat 9 into a GEO Transfer Orbit. Controllers acquired the satellite's first signals just seven hours and fifty-four minutes post-launch.

After separation, AsiaSat 9 maneuvered using its electric propulsion system, arriving at the 122°E orbital slot on 9 October 2017 and achieving full operational status by 27 November 2017. Once operational, AsiaSat 9 became the highest powered C-band satellite in Asia, featuring 110 watts C-band TWTAs to deliver greater power and efficiency across the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite's coverage extends across multiple regions through several active beams, including a Ku-band Australasia beam, a Ku-band East Asia beam, and additional targeted beams serving Indonesia, Mongolia, and Myanmar. Much like IBM's Deep Blue, which processed 200 million positions per second across 32 parallel processors to achieve unprecedented computational performance, AsiaSat 9 represented a significant leap in technological capability within its own field.

Who Is AsiaSat and Why Did They Need a New Satellite?

The satellite now orbiting at 122°E belongs to AsiaSat, a Hong Kong-based company that's been operating commercial communications satellites since 1988. Understanding AsiaSat history means recognizing it as Asia's first regional commercial satellite operator, serving broadcasting, data, and mobility sectors across the Asia-Pacific for over 30 years.

Its ownership structure sits under Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited, with Chinese state-owned CITIC Limited and The Carlyle Group jointly controlling the company through Bowenvale Limited. Bowenvale held 74.43% of shares as of December 2017.

AsiaSat needed AsiaSat 9 to replace its aging AsiaSat 4 at the 122° East orbital slot. The newer satellite delivers enhanced power and efficiency, supporting growing demand for broadcasting, telecom, and IP-hybrid services across the region's 860+ million TV households. AsiaSat operates six in-orbit satellites in total, providing connectivity solutions across media, data, and mobility sectors throughout the Asia-Pacific region. AsiaSat 9 was launched on 28 Sep 2017 aboard a Proton-M rocket, marking another milestone in the company's long history of satellite operations.

AsiaSat 9's Coverage Zones Across Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific

Spanning Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Australasia, AsiaSat 9's C-band footprint operates across 28 transponders, each carrying 36 MHz of bandwidth at 110-watt TWTA power with 32-for-28 redundancy. You'll find horizontal and vertical polarization supporting both uplink and downlink paths, delivering a receiving G/T of -0.5+ dB/K.

Ku-band extends coverage further through five dedicated regional beams targeting East Asia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Australasia, and Mongolia. Each beam runs 54 MHz across 32 transponders at 200 watts, with cross-strap beam switching enabling footprint optimization across shifting demand. Beam overlap between adjacent zones ensures consistent signal margins, particularly at the 5° elevation contour defined for the Australasia beam. East Asia and Indonesia beams push downlink EIRP up to 3 dB higher than previous configurations, doubling spectral efficiency. The satellite was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 29 September 2017, riding a Space Systems Loral 1300 platform to its orbital position at 122° East longitude. AsiaSat 9 was specifically designed to replace AsiaSat-4, bringing additional capacity and enhanced regional service capabilities to the Asia-Pacific region. This growth in commercial satellite capacity reflects a broader industry trend toward modular assembly and independent spacecraft systems, where each module integrates its own propulsion, solar arrays, and life support to maximize operational flexibility in low-Earth orbit.

What Direct-to-Home TV and Broadband Services AsiaSat 9 Enables

AsiaSat 9's direct-to-home capabilities stretch well beyond basic broadcasting, letting multicultural households across Australia receive Chinese, Russian, and Arabic TV and radio channels through dedicated transponder capacity. Through its partnership with MySat, AsiaSat delivers a premium Arabic DTH bouquet, while Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and other channels remain freely receivable. You get a complete one-stop service covering space segment, encoding, multiplexing, uplink, and 24/7 monitoring.

Beyond multicultural broadcasting, AsiaSat 9 supports fixed data broadband across Asia-Pacific using its C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band payloads. You'll benefit from IP-based broadcast services with guaranteed fixed data rates ensuring consistent quality. Mobility services run through high-efficiency Ku-band beams covering Indonesia, Mongolia, and Australasia, while cross-strap beam switching across five Ku-band beams lets you optimize coverage flexibility as needed. Notably, AsiaSat 9 features the world's first dedicated Ku-band Myanmar beam, opening new opportunities for broadband and mobility services in the region. The satellite also incorporates 110 watt C-band amplifiers, the highest powered available, delivering enhanced stability and reliability for network operations across its service areas. Much like how electronic payment integration transformed transaction speeds and network reach in e-commerce, AsiaSat 9's layered payload architecture enables faster, more reliable data delivery across previously underserved regions throughout Asia-Pacific.

How AsiaSat 9 Compares to the Rest of the AsiaSat Fleet

Rounding out a seven-satellite fleet that includes AsiaSat 3S, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, AsiaSat 9 stands as the most powerful member, outperforming its predecessors across power output, coverage, and capacity.

Its power comparison against older satellites like AsiaSat 5 reveals clear advantages in both signal strength and regional reach. AsiaSat 9 is positioned at 122°E orbital slot, cementing its role as the flagship of the fleet.

The payload distribution across C-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band further separates it from earlier fleet members. The fleet as a whole serves targeted sectors, with broadcast and telecom remaining the primary focus of AsiaSat's satellite operations. Much like IBM's early rental revenue model, which generated consistent returns by locking in long-term customer relationships, AsiaSat structures its satellite services around sustained, contract-based commitments with broadcasters and telecom providers.

Here's what makes AsiaSat 9 stand out:

• Power output: Features a 110-watt C-band TWTA, the most powerful in the fleet
• Payload distribution: Carries 28 C-band, 32 Ku-band, and an additional Ka-band payload
• Coverage: Delivers enhanced reach across Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, surpassing AsiaSat 4's capabilities

Why ILS Was Chosen Over Competing Launch Providers

When AsiaSat selected International Launch Services to carry its ninth satellite into orbit, the decision reflected a provider that had rebuilt its reputation through 12 consecutive successful Proton launches by late September 2017.

That streak pushed ILS past the 1-in-10 failure threshold insurers use for risk pricing, making coverage more accessible for customers like AsiaSat.

ILS pricing benefited directly from its Roscosmos partnership, which allowed closer discussions on strategy, schedules, and cost reductions through the Glavkosmos governance structure.

You'd also find ILS offering diversified options, including Proton Medium and an expanded fairing, that competitors couldn't match on the same timeline. The Proton Medium was slated for introduction in 2018, offering roughly five tons of GTO capacity and broadening ILS's appeal to a wider range of satellite operators.

Against SpaceX's reusability push and emerging rivals like Ariane 6, ILS leaned on reliability, competitive pricing, and a strengthened commercial backlog to secure its position. The Proton's Breeze M upper stage further distinguished its offering by enabling long-duration flights of up to 15 hours, allowing satellites to be delivered directly into geostationary orbit and eliminating the need for costly onboard electric propulsion systems.

What AsiaSat 9's 15-Year Mission Means for Regional Connectivity

With a design life exceeding 15 years, AsiaSat 9 isn't just replacing aging hardware at 122° East—it's locking in a stable connectivity backbone for the Asia-Pacific region through the early 2030s. Its satellite resilience ensures your ground segment investments remain viable long-term, while regional redundancy improves service continuity across markets you're actively expanding into. You can build capacity planning strategies around a platform that won't need replacement mid-decade.

Here's what that longevity delivers for your operations:

• Predictable infrastructure supporting DTH, broadband, and VSAT across Asia-Pacific
• Expanded footprint reaching the Middle East, Central Asia, and Australasia simultaneously
• Higher efficiency through advanced propulsion and power systems, reducing your operational costs

AsiaSat 9 doesn't just connect regions—it sustains them. The satellite was carried to orbit aboard a Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage, completing a precise nine-hour multi-burn flight profile before separating into a highly elliptical transfer orbit. This kind of dedicated regional satellite coverage follows a model pioneered by Canada's Anik A1 in 1972, which became the world's first commercial geostationary communications satellite to deliver domestic national coverage rather than serving transcontinental routes alone.