astronomy

Intelsat 8

Intelsat 8 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 8 rather than just read about it. In short: Intelsat 8 (formerly PAS-8) is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 166° East of longitude, serving the Pacific Ocean market. Mission INTELSAT 8 (PAS-8) was launched on 4 November 1998 by a Proton Block DM vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Key takeaways

Intelsat 8 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 8 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Intelsat 8 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Intelsat 8 (formerly PAS-8) is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 166° East of longitude, serving the Pacific Ocean market.

Mission INTELSAT 8 (PAS-8) was launched on 4 November 1998 by a Proton Block DM vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The satellite was designed with 24 Ku-band channels at 100 Watts and 24 C-band channels at 50 Watts. The spacecraft is based on the Space Systems Loral SSL=1300 bus and was part of a series of three satellites ordered from Loral. The satellite was designed for the Pacific market serving Australia, Hawaii, the northwest coast of the U.S., and portions of the Far East. On 13 August 2012, it was replaced with Intelsat 19. During September 2012, it was co-located to the same position as Intelsat 5 at 169° East from 166° East to continue its service life as Intelsat 5's replacement later in the year. On 19 October 2012 at around 23:00 UTC, Intelsat 8 took over broadcasting Intelsat 5's television channels which include Australia Network and regular feeds of Entertainment Tonight and The Wall Street Journal Report available via a two-meter dish at 4.1 GHz horizontal.

Decommissioning The satellite was moved to a graveyard orbit by 26 December 2016.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Intelsat 8

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Intelsat 8 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 8 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 8 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 8

In research: Intelsat 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Intelsat 8 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 8 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Intelsat 8 in simple terms?

Intelsat 8 (formerly PAS-8) is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat located at 166° East of longitude, serving the Pacific Ocean market. Mission INTELSAT 8 (PAS-8) was launched on 4 November 1998 by a Proton Block DM vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Why does Intelsat 8 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 8?

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 8.