First Nuclear-Powered Commercial Satellite Flies on Transporter-17 | KeepTrack X Report
SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare carried 81 payloads including history's first nuclear-powered commercial satellite on July 7.
Launch Date
July 15, 2011
Launch Site
Launch Pad
LC200/39
Launch Vehicle
Proton-M/Briz-M
NORAD ID
37748
International Designator
2011-035A
Epoch
Sat, 04 Jul 2026 04:50:40 GMT
Apogee
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Perigee
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Inclination
1.37°
Right Ascension
82.92°
Eccentricity
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Argument of Perigee
13.31°
Period
1436.09 min
Mean Motion
1.00 rev/day
Latitude
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Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
SES-3
Alternative Name
SES-3
Type
Status
Owner
SESSL
Country
United Kingdom
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 37748U 11035A 26185.20185797 -.00000091 00000-0 00000-0 0 9991
2 37748 1.3680 82.9153 0002292 13.3109 155.6671 1.00272056 54765
Source: Celestrak
Length
4.3
Diameter
2.3
Span
18
Dry Mass
1500
Launch Mass
3112
Shape
Box + 2 Pan
Radar Cross Section
19.9526
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
SES-3
Purpose
Communication
Mission
Communication
Manufacturer
OSCD
Life Expectancy
15 years (fueled for >16 years)
Bus
Star-2.4
Configuration
Star-2.4 Bus
Motor
BT-4
Equipment
24 active C-band, 24 Ku-band and 2 Ka-band transponders; CHIRP (#2 only)
Power System
2 deployable solar arrays, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
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