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Marcopolo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcopolo 1 and 2 were two satellites designed, launched and tested by Hughes Space and Communications (now part of Boeing Satellite Systems) for British Satellite Broadcasting, and were used for Britain's Direct Broadcast Service. Marcopolo 1 launched on August 27 1989, and Marcopolo 2 on August 17 1990.
Although the satellites worked perfectly, BSB was a commercial failure and the satellites were sold off and renamed.
Marcopolo 1 was sold off in December 1993 to Nordic Satellite AB of Sweden and operated until 2000 as Sirius 1 at 5°E. It was then moved to 13°W, and renamed Sirius W, although it is not currently transmitting any services.
Marcopolo 2 was sold in July 1992 to Telenor of Norway and renamed Thor 1. It was located at 0.8°W until it was switched off in January 2002. In November 2002, it was moved to 7.4°W and reactivated with digital test signals broadcasting towards Scandinavia. Marcopolo 2 was sent up to the junk orbit in early January 2003.
