science

Mexican Satellite System

Mexican Satellite System is a science 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 Mexican Satellite System rather than just read about it. In short: The Mexican Satellite System, also known as MEXSAT, is a network of three satellites bought by the Mexican government's Ministry of Communications and Transportation. The three satellites are named Mexsat-1, Mexsat-2, and Mexsat-3.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Mexican Satellite System, also known as MEXSAT, is a network of three satellites bought by the Mexican government's Ministry of Communications and Transportation. The three satellites are named Mexsat-1, Mexsat-2, and Mexsat-3. Subsequently, they have also been named Centenario, Morelos III and Bicentenario respectively. Mexsat-1 and Mexsat-2 are twin satellites for mobile communication devices and will operate in the electromagnetic frequencies of the L and Ku bands. Mexsat-3 will operate in the range of the extended C and Ku bands. Together these three satellites will form the whole system, operated by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation. The system is expected to meet the telecommunications needs of the whole country. Two control centres have been built in Hermosillo from which the new satellites will be operated. They were inaugurated by the then-president Felipe Calderón on 29 November 2012.

History On 20 August 2009, the National Security Program of Mexico announced the MEXSAT project as a means by which to preserve security in Mexico. It is developed by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation and on 17 December 2010 in New York City, United States of America, the Federal Government signed a contract for the acquisition of the MEXSAT system by Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. On 28 June 2011 a contract is signed with Arianespace SA, who will provide the launch services for Mexsat-3. On 6 February 2012 a contract is signed with International Launch Services (ILS) to provide the launch services for Mexsat-1. In April 2012 the government renames the satellites from Mexsat-1, 2 and 3 to Centenario, Morelos III and Bicentenario.

Mexsat-1 The first of the three satellites which formed the MEXSAT system was Centenario (originally Mexsat-1), named to commemorate the centenary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. It was a Boeing 702HP communications satellite completed in November 2013. It was equipped with an L band reflector and a Ku band antenna. It had an estimated lifespan of 15 years. The satellite was launched on an ILS Proton-M rocket on 16 May 2015. However, 490 seconds after lift-off a technical failure in the third stage of the craft caused the destruction of the satellite, which burned up in the atmosphere and fell into Siberia.

Mexsat-2

The second satellite, Morelos III (originally Mexsat-2) was due to be launched in the last quarter of 2014 but was held back. It instead was launched on October 2, 2015, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. It is identical in design and function to Mexsat-1, in that it is a Boeing 702HP fitted with the same equipment. It was the second satellite in the network to achieve orbit. It is named after a previous Mexican Satellite Network, Morelos Satellite System.

Mexsat-3

The third satellite, Bicentenario (originally Mexsat-3), is so named to commemorate the bicentennial of Mexican Independence. Instead of being a Boeing 702Hp like its counterparts, Mexsat-3 is instead a GEOStar-2 manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation. It was launched on 19 December 2012 from a base in Kourou, French Guiana, becoming the first satellite in the network to achieve orbit (contrary to its name).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mexican Satellite System

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mexican Satellite System claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, 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 Mexican Satellite System 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 Mexican Satellite System 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 Mexican Satellite System

In research: Mexican Satellite System appears in science 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 Mexican Satellite System 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: Mexican Satellite System is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Communications satellite operators, Hermosillo, Space program of Mexico, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mexican Satellite System 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 Mexican Satellite System in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Mexican Satellite System in simple terms?

Why does Mexican Satellite System matter?

Because it connects several science 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 Mexican Satellite System?

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 Mexican Satellite System.