SIRIUS is a constellation of geostationary satellites operated by SES SIRIUS operating from 5° East in the Clarke Belt. They carry digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, including the Viasat pay TV system. A geostationary orbit (abbreviated GEO) is a circular orbit in the Earths equatorial plane, any point on which revolves about the Earth in the same direction and with the same period as the Earths rotation. ... SES SIRIUS, formerly called Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) is the owner and operator of the two SIRIUS satellites, which provide the Nordic countries and the Baltic states, with TV, radio, data and communications solutions. ... A geosynchronous orbit is a geocentric orbit that has the same orbital period as the sidereal rotation period of the Earth. ... It has been suggested that Digital terrestrial television be merged into this article or section. ... Artists impression of a Boeing 601 satellite, as configured for digital television transmission by SES Astra Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. ... Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe named after the Scandinavian Peninsula. ... Caption Viasat is a DTH distributor and a television network, founded by Jan Stenbeck and owned by Modern Times Group. ... Pay television, or pay-TV, usually refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analogue and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly by digital terrestrial methods. ...

SIRIUS 2 and SIRIUS 3 currently operate from this position. 2 has always operated from 5E, however 3 was leant to SES Astra at its launch as a backup for Astra 2B at 28.2E, which was believed to be seriously faulty on launch. A fourth satellite, SIRIUS 4, was ordered in 2005, and will carry a massive 46 transponder active payload. SES Astra SA, a subsidiary of SES Global, is a Luxembourg-based corporation which owns and operates the Astra series of geostationary satellites, which transmit approximately 1100 analogue and digital television and radio channels via 176 transponders to 91 million households across Europe. ... ASTRA 2B is located at 28. ...

A previous SIRIUS satellite, SIRIUS 1 (later SIRIUS W) was purchased from BSkyB after Sky Television's merger with British Satellite Broadcasting (the merger was conducted on Sky's terms and BSB's satellites were sold in favour of Sky's leased Astra satellite operations). The satellite had previously operated as Marcopolo 1. It operated at 5 East from 1994 until 2000, when it was moved to 13 West. It operated here before being dumped to graveyard orbit in 2003. British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB - formerly two companies, Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, which merged) is a company that operates the most popular subscription television service in the Ireland. ... Sky Television corporate identity from 1989, maintained by British Sky Broadcasting until 1995 Sky Television plc was a four-channel satellite television service launched by Rupert Murdochs News International on February 5, 1989. ... BSB logo British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a company set up in 1986 to provide direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. ... SES Astra SA, a subsidiary of SES Global, is a Luxembourg-based corporation which owns and operates the Astra series of geostationary satellites, which transmit approximately 1100 analogue and digital television and radio channels via 176 transponders to 91 million households across Europe. ... Marcopolo 1 and 2 (spelled thus) were two satellites launched in 1989 in order to carry the five television channels of Britains official direct broadcast satellite company, British Satellite Broadcasting. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... A graveyard orbit is an orbit where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The SIRIUS satellites are not to be confused with the satellites used for the American Sirius Satellite Radio service, which has their satellites named Radiosat 1-4, due to them being launched after the SIRIUS fleet of satellites. Sirius Satellite Radio NASDAQ: SIRI is a satellite radio (DARS) service based in New York City that provides 68 streams (channels) of music and 55 streams of sports, news and entertainment to the United States and Canada. ...

External links

• Transponder lineup