astronomy

Venesat-1

Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 rather than just read about it. In short: VeneSat-1, also known as Simón Bolívar (named after Venezuelan independence fighter Simón Bolívar), was the first Venezuelan satellite. It was designed, built and launched by the CGWIC subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Key takeaways

Venesat-1 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Venesat-1 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Venesat-1 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

VeneSat-1, also known as Simón Bolívar (named after Venezuelan independence fighter Simón Bolívar), was the first Venezuelan satellite. It was designed, built and launched by the CGWIC subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It was a communications satellite operating from a geosynchronous orbit. The satellite was launched on a Chinese Long March 3B carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center Launch Complex 2 on 29 October 2008 at 16:53 UTC.

Overview VeneSat-1, operated by Venezuela's Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities (ABAE), was built on the Chinese DFH-4 satellite bus. It had a mass of 5,049 kilograms (11,131 lb) and an expected service life of 15 years. The satellite featured a payload of 14 C-band, 12 Ku-band, and 2 Ka-band transponders. Occupying an orbital slot of 78° West, designated for Uruguay and ceded to Venezuela by mutual accord, it provided television broadcasting and broadband connectivity services. However, since 13 March 2020, VeneSat-1 has been out of service due to a series of maneuvers that left it tumbling and drifting away from its assigned orbital position. Seradata reported that the satellite lost both of its solar array drives between February and March 2020, resulting in a loss of power for the spacecraft. The operator attempted to perform an emergency move of the spacecraft to a graveyard orbit, but evidently, only the apogee engine burn was successful while the perigee burn failed. It is suggested that the spacecraft may have run out of power during the perigee attempt, or exhausted its fuel supply. As of 23 March 2020, VeneSat-1 was in an elliptical orbit of approximately 36,300 by 35,800 kilometres (22,600 by 22,200 mi), with its perigee approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) above the normal geosynchronous orbit. It had also drifted west by 30°. On 24 March 2020, the Venezuelan government transferred the majority of VeneSat-1's functions to the American Intelsat 14. The following day, Venezuela's Ministry of Science and Technology officially declared the satellite lost, marking the end of its mission. VeneSat-1 failed three years prior to its expected end of life.

Significance Venezuela's work on Venesat-1 was conducted in part to amplify regional network Telesur's programming by enabling it to avoid geo-blocking efforts by DirecTV, an American company.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Venesat-1

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1

In research: Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 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: Venesat-1 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2008 in Venezuela, China–Venezuela relations, Communications satellites in geostationary orbit, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Venesat-1 in simple terms?

Why does Venesat-1 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 Venesat-1?

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 Venesat-1.