One man’s junk is another man’s fortune

[Satspot]

An old article from 2017 but as the galaxy is filling up with scrap satellites it’s interesting to see that EOL inclined orbit satellites do have an additional premium attached to them, probably not apparent when they were first launched. Inclined orbit satellites can now be worth millions

I’m assuming there are a number of members here still tracking inclined orbit satellites but I don’t see too much discussion on the subject. Maybe those who are could post their activities here.

 

[Analoguesat]

A couple of old heavily inclined satellites have been used for internet & comms to polar research stations after yjeir geostationary useful life was over. At the extremes of the daily swings they can be above the polar station horizon for a few hours at a time


One of them was only retired about 3 years ago after a 30+ year useful life

TV bird AMC-14 which was involved in a botched launch about 10 years ago which ledft it in an unusable orbit is used on a military mission now. 21.6 degrees inclined at 18E

 

[Satspot]

A couple of old heavily inclined satellites have been used for internet & comms to polar research stations after yjeir geostationary useful life was over. At the extremes of the daily swings they can be above the polar station horizon for a few hours at a time


One of them was only retired about 3 years ago after a 30+ year useful life

TV bird AMC-14 which was involved in a botched launch about 10 years ago which ledft it in an unusable orbit is used on a military mission now. 21.6 degrees inclined at 18E

Is there much interest in feed hunting from inclined orbit satellites here. Some of them look interesting and may not need a large dish to tune to.

I acquired a dual axis motor a couple of decades back which I never used and am trying to rescue it from storage. If I remember correctly to was an IRTE branded unit. I’ll post details as soon as I’ve located it but it just might do the job.

 

[Analoguesat]

Incliend feed hunting was much bigger a few years ago when the horse racing was commonly carried on an inclined orbit bird (20W maybe?) The inrun betting lads were desperate for those.

 

[Satspot]

Funny you should mention that. They resorted to drones to get the “extra yard” but drone over flying race courses is now in the process of being banned here. Maybe they’ll buy space on one of those inclined orbit babies and broadcast themselves

 

[Analoguesat]

A lot of big sports facilities now have direct fibre links to the outside world so no longer need satellite uplinks.

 

[moonbase]

Incliend feed hunting was much bigger a few years ago when the horse racing was commonly carried on an inclined orbit bird (20W maybe?) The inrun betting lads were desperate for those.

It was 30.8 East, SIS had a penchant for using inclined orbit satellites as as transponder hire was cheaper than using non inclined.
SIS stopped using 30.8 East when it got to about 2.5 degrees inclined and migrated to 3.0 West.

Nowadays it is all fibred up or LiveU apart from the dronesters who use wifi.

 

[Analoguesat]

Talking of inrun betting - I was offered large sums of money several times here on the forum for the secrets of how to get the ultimate advantage over othes. (They were banned immediately & Im still waiting for the first cheque to arrive!!)

 

[Satspot]

Yes you can clearly see the benefit of a sports live feed uplink could be to the fraudsters. No doubt they benefitted back in the day.

What would the average delay be between viewing an uplink v a down link broadcast. With the proliferation of in event betting these days speed of bet placement is king I’d imagine.

 

[hvdh]

Nowadays, most inclined satellites just sit idle nearby an active stationary one, or are jumping around for > 3 month slot reservations.
Intelsat 906 (incl. 1.6°) at 64.15°E still has plenty data activity in Ku band. Probably including broadband for airlines.
There may be more on the West arc but I can't view these.

 

[moonbase]

Talking of inrun betting - I was offered large sums of money several times here on the forum for the secrets of how to get the ultimate advantage over othes. (They were banned immediately & Im still waiting for the first cheque to arrive!!)

Cheques !

Hmmm, not sure if I would consider a kite as a reliable payment method, they could have gone skint in the last race at Ludlow before the kite was presented at a bank.
There have been a few dual axis motorised sytems listed on eBay from in runner punters who went all in on a mouse click.

Back to inclined orbit satellites, I am not sure if any of those visible to a UK location are currently carrying picture feeds. Some of them are definitely carrying data feeds.
The last time I checked 12.5W and 24.5W, both inclined, they had data feeds but it was a while ago.

I have attached below a couple of pictures showing an old tracking chart and table for 24.5W.
It is an easy job to track the satellites and predict in advance the time they will be in close proximity to the arc, several web sites carry this info.

Unless the satellite is highly inclined, it is usually possible to get a decent duration window to scan it as it becomes visible when approaching the arc from one side before exiting from visibility on t'other side

.

 

[Satspot]

Cheques !

Hmmm, not sure if I would consider a kite as a reliable payment method, they could have gone skint in the last race at Ludlow before the kite was presented at a bank.
There have been a few dual axis motorised sytems listed on eBay from in runner punters who went all in on a mouse click.

Back to inclined orbit satellites, I am not sure if any of those visible to a UK location are currently carrying picture feeds. Some of them are definitely carrying data feeds.
The last time I checked 12.5W and 24.5W, both inclined, they had data feeds but it was a while ago.

I have attached below a couple of pictures showing an old tracking chart and table for 24.5W.
It is an easy job to track the satellites and predict in advance the time they will be in close proximity to the arc, several web sites carry this info.

Unless the satellite is highly inclined, it is usually possible to get a decent duration window to scan it as it becomes visible when approaching the arc from one side before exiting from visibility on t'other side

.
View attachment 139895 View attachment 139896

That chart is very informative indeed. There was definitely more inclined orbit satellites with useful feeds back in the analogue days and lot more DXers tracking them with regular reports.

Once I’ve uncovered some of the old equipment from storage I can decide what is possible. I do know there’s some interesting actuators, positioners complete with remotes and various other bits and pieces. The Christmas holiday will be the ideal time for this trip down memory lane

 

[Lazarus]

Staff Note

@Satspot

As your Topic has generated a decent amount of interest, I could Edit the original Title for you, if you wish, to summat like "Inclined Orbit Satellites - General Chat"

Just an idea.

Equally happy for it to remain "as is".

 

[Satspot]

Staff Note

@Satspot

As your Topic has generated a decent amount of interest, I could Edit the original Title for you, if you wish, to summat like "Inclined Orbit Satellites - General Chat"

Just an idea.

Equally happy for it to remain "as is".

Of course but you can see the curiosity that title generated. It was of course a serious post about inclined orbit satellites but I reckon some of the “old hands” thought there might be an earner in it for them somewhere . I certainly appreciate the feedback though.