AMSAT-DL/BATC team at the Kennedy Space Center Nov. 14, 2018

The geostationary satellite Es’hail-2 carrying amateur radio transponders launched from Kennedy Space Center at 2046 GMT on Thursday, November 15 and was successfully deployed 32 minutes later.

Es’hail-2 coverage area

A pre-launch static fire test had been carried out November 12.

AMSAT-DL say the launcher does not go directly into geostationary orbit, several orbital maneuvers are necessary, the satellite will then enter the commissioning phase which may take several months.

AMSAT-DL would be pleased to receive as many reception reports as possible, but they would like to ask urgently that transmission attempts are only made after the official release. Transmission attempts before a release only hinder the commissioning and could lead to delays.

See AMSAT-DL https://amsat-dl.org/p4-a-eshail-2-launches-in-a-few-days

SpaceX Mission Timeline https://spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/eshail-2_mission_press_kit_11_14_2018.pdf

Download the Es’hail-2 Transponder Information PDF

Es’hail-2 information https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Es’hail-2 and its Amateur Radio payload by Graham Shirville G3VZV and Dave Crump G8GKQ

More videos from the AMSAT-UK Colloquium, part of the RSGB Convention, held at Milton Keynes Oct 13-14, are now available on the AMSAT-UK YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK/videos