astronomy

Intelsat 3R

Intelsat 3R is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Intelsat 3R rather than just read about it. In short: Intelsat 3R (formerly PAS-3R) is a communications satellite serving the Americas market. It is owned by Intelsat and located at 43° West longitude.

Key takeaways

Intelsat 3R belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Intelsat 3R to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Intelsat 3R from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Intelsat 3R (formerly PAS-3R) is a communications satellite serving the Americas market. It is owned by Intelsat and located at 43° West longitude.

Satellite description Hughes Aircraft Corporation constructed the satellite based on the HS-601 satellite bus, having a mass at launch of 2,920 kg (6,440 lb), which decreased to around 1,727 kg (3,807 lb) when it was operational. The spacecraft had 20 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders. Its two solar panels spanned 26 m (85 ft) and generated 4.7 kW of power when the spacecraft first entered service. The power was expected to drop to around 4.3 kW by the end of the vehicle's operational life, i.e., 15 years.

Launch Arianespace launched PAS-3R using an Ariane 4 launch vehicle, flight number V82, in the Ariane 44L H10-3 configuration. The launch occurred on 12 January 1996 at 23:10:00 UTC from ELA-2 at the Centre Spatial Guyanais, at Kourou in French Guiana.

Intelsat 3R Intelsat 3R was launched in January 1996 and operated by PanAmSat until it merged with Intelsat in 2006. The spacecraft and the rest of PanAmSat's fleet were renamed on 1 February 2007.

Decommissioning Intelsat 3R was removed from geostationary orbit in August 2011 and was placed into graveyard orbit.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Intelsat 3R

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Intelsat 3R claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Intelsat 3R before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Intelsat 3R ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Intelsat 3R

In research: Intelsat 3R appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Intelsat 3R in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Intelsat 3R is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Communications satellite stubs, Communications satellites in geostationary orbit, Intelsat satellites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Intelsat 3R outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Intelsat 3R in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Intelsat 3R means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Intelsat 3R out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Intelsat 3R in simple terms?

Intelsat 3R (formerly PAS-3R) is a communications satellite serving the Americas market. It is owned by Intelsat and located at 43° West longitude.

Why does Intelsat 3R matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Intelsat 3R?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Intelsat 3R.