LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 04, 2000 -- "Roll," a powerful Boeing 702 satellite built for XM Satellite Radio, Inc., is shown prior to shipment to a Sea Launch floating launch platform near the equator. Roll carries a 13.3-kilowatt digital audio radio payload built by French aerospace leader Alcatel Space Industries. It features two active transponders, each with 16 active (and six spare) 228-watt traveling wave tube amplifiers generating approximately 3,000 watts of RF power, making these the most powerful commercial transponders ever built. The powerful satellite will operate in geosynchronous orbit at 85 degrees West longitude. The satellite has two 16.4 ft folding deployable S-band transmit reflectors and one X-band global receiver antenna. When fully deployed, the solar wings span 132.5 feet and the antennas to 46.6 feet. The payload weighs approximately 9,800 pounds at launch and 6,500 pounds in orbit.
BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS, INC.
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BOEING SATELLITE SYSTEMS
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