| Astra 1F | |
| Mission Type: | Communications |
| Operator: | SES |
| Cospar Id: | 1996-021A |
| Satcat: | 23842 |
| Website: | https://www.ses.com/ |
| Mission Duration: | 15 years (planned) 24 years, 7 months (achieved) |
| Spacecraft Type: | Boeing 601 |
| Spacecraft Bus: | HS-601 |
| Manufacturer: | Hughes Space and Communications |
| Power: | 4.7 kW |
| Launch Date: | 8 April 1996, 23:09:01 UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Proton-K / DM-2M |
| Launch Site: | Baikonur, Site 81/23 |
| Launch Contractor: | Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center |
| Entered Service: | June 1996 |
| Disposal Type: | Graveyard orbit |
| Deactivated: | November 2020 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Orbit Regime: | Geostationary orbit |
| Orbit Longitude: | Astra 19.2°E (1996-2009) 51°E (2009-20100 55°E (2010-2015) 44.5°E (2015-2020) |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Trans Band: | 16 Ku-band |
| Trans Bandwidth: | FSS: 26 Mhz BSS: 33 MHz |
| Trans Coverage: | Europe |
| Programme: | Astra constellation |
| Previous Mission: | Astra 1E |
| Next Mission: | Astra 1G |
Astra 1F is one of the Astra communications satellites in geostationary orbit owned and operated by SES. It was launched in April 1996 to the Astra 19.2°E orbital slot initially to provide digital television and radio for direct-to-home (DTH) across Europe.
The satellite originally provided two broadcast beams, of horizontal and vertical polarisation, for Fixed Service Satellite (FSS) (10.70-10.95 GHz) and for Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) (11.70-12.10 GHz) frequency bands. The FSS beams provide footprints that cover essentially the same area of Europe – northern, central and eastern Europe, including Spain and northern Italy – while the BSS horizontal beam excludes Spain and extends further east, and the BSS vertical beam includes Spain and more of southern Italy but does not extend so far east. Within the footprints, television signals are usually received with a 60–80 cm dish.[2]