Anik (satellite)

The Anik satellites are a group of special machines that float high above the Earth, helping people talk, watch TV, and send information all over Canada and other places. These satellites were made and sent into space by a company called Telesat Canada. The first Anik satellite was launched way back in 1972, and the last one went up in 2013.

The name “Anik” was chosen through a big contest that anyone in Canada could enter. A young girl named Julie-Frances Czapla from Saint-Léonard, Québec won the contest, and she picked the name. In the Inuktitut language, which is spoken by some people in Canada, “Anik” means “brother”.

Some of the Anik satellites are still working today, floating in a special path called a geostationary orbit. Others have finished their work and have been moved to a resting place far away from other satellites, called a graveyard orbit. These satellites helped change the way people in Canada and around the world could communicate and enjoy television and other services.

Satellites

Anik A

The Anik A satellites were the world's first national satellites that could reach all of Canada. Before these, satellites could only connect faraway places. The Anik A satellites helped Canada's public broadcaster show programs in the far north for the first time. Each satellite could send television shows or telephone calls.

Anik B

It was launched on December 15, 1978, and was the next in line after the Anik A series and the Hermes experimental satellite. Most of its parts were used for CBC Television — showing East and West feeds of CBC North, CBC Parliamentary Television Network, CITV-TV Edmonton, CHCH Hamilton, and TVOntario.

CNCP Telecommunications also used Anik B to send its services. The Globe and Mail used Anik B to send news to printing plants across Canada.

Anik C

The Anik C satellites were much stronger than the Anik A satellites. They could send more television and telephone signals. Each Anik C satellite had sixteen parts that could send different types of signals.

Anik C3 was used to share Canada's first pay television networks – First Choice, Superchannel, C-Channel, and Star Channel – which started on February 1, 1983. (World View, an ethnic service in British Columbia, was not shared using any satellite.)

Anik C3 had many different channels on it in 1983:

• 02 - Atlantic Satellite Network
• 03 - Assiniboia Downs Racing Network
• 06 - Super Écran TV payante
• 10 - Radio-Québec
• 14 - La Sette 2
• 15 - Knowledge
• 16 - La Sette 1
• 17 - Access Alberta
• 18 - TFO
• 19 - Premier Choix/TVEC TV payante
• 20 - TVOntario
• 23 - Superchannel
• 24 - TVOntario-Legislature Channel
• 25 - CHSC Canadian Home Shopping Club (West feed)
• 27 - Knowledge Network
• 30 - First Choice
• 32 - CHSC Canadian Home Shopping Club (East feed)

Anik D

Anik D1 and Anik D2 satellites were launched in 1982 and 1984. They were built using a design from Hughes.

Anik E

Anik E1 and Anik E2 were launched in the early 1990s to replace Anik D1 and Anik D2. Unlike the earlier round satellites, these were square-shaped and used special wheels to stay pointed at Earth.

Anik E2 had a problem when its antenna was being opened, but it was fixed after some fixes.

On Thursday, January 20, 1994, Anik E1 and Anik E2 had problems because of activity from the Sun. Anik E1 stopped working first, losing television signals in Canada. After a few hours, it was fixed. Later, Anik E2 also stopped working because its wheels, which help point the satellite, failed. It took five months to fix Anik E2. During that time, people had to move their satellite dishes.

Telesat fixed Anik E2 by building special stations to watch the satellite and using new software to control it. The satellite kept working for 14 years, two years longer than planned.

On March 26, 1996, another big problem happened. A important part on Anik E1's power system broke, cutting power to half the satellite.

Anik F1 and F1R

Anik F1 is a Canadian communications satellite that was launched on November 21, 2000, by an Ariane 4 rocket from the European Space Agency Centre Spatial Guyanais at Kourou. At the time of its launch it was the most powerful communications satellite ever built. It has a special system to push itself and its signals cover Central America as well as North America.

It was launched for Telesat Canada, a Canadian communications company. The main users are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Shaw Direct, CHUM Limited and Canadian Satellite Communications Inc., and Bell Canada Enterprise Inc.

• Operator: Telesat Canada
• Manufacturer: Boeing Satellite Systems (formerly Hughes Aircraft Company) bus model Boeing 702
• Mass: 4710 kg (10,384 lb) at launch and 3015 kg (6647 lb) in orbit
• Dimensions: 40.4 m (132.5 feet) long and 9.0 m (29.5 feet) wide with the solar panels and antennas deployed
• DC power: 17.5 kW
• Expected lifetime: 15 years
• Transponders: 84 C-band and Ku-band
• Launch vehicle: Ariane 4

The solar panels of Anik F1 broke down faster than expected, so a replacement Anik F1R was launched in 2005, with Anik F1 switching to serving only South America. Anik F1R also carries a GPS/WAAS payload in addition to the C-band and Ku-band transponders. The GPS /WAAS Payload was disabled on May 15, 2022, in concert with the activation of Galaxy XV.

Anik F2

At 5,900 kilograms (13,000 lb), it is more than ten times the size of Anik A2 and is one of the largest, most powerful communications satellites ever built. Anik F2 is a Boeing 702-series satellite, designed to support and improve current North American voice, data, and broadcast services with its C-Band and Ku-band technologies. It is the fifteenth satellite to be launched by Telesat Canada.

With its use of Ka band technology, low-cost two-way satellite delivery will be available for wireless Internet access connections, telehealth, distance education, remote work applications, and e-commerce in the most remote regions of Canada.

On October 6, 2011, starting around 06:30 EST a "technical" problem caused the satellite to turn away from the Earth causing an outage in Internet, telephone and bank machine connectivity throughout much of Canada's northern areas. The outage also affected flights in the region. Some hospitals in Québec reported an outage in their communications systems as a result of the satellite problem. The problem happened when the satellite did not respond well to a software update. As it failed, it turned away from the Earth and positioned itself towards the Sun in order to keep important systems running. This was Anik F2's first outage. The event caused the Canadian military's research arm, Defence Research and Development Canada, to start considering satellites as important systems and to invest in research to develop ways that will help protect Canadian satellites from problems.

On October 2, 2016, at approximately 17:00 EDT, another problem with Anik F2 resulted in a loss of Northwestel's long distance and cellular service, Xplornet and some SSI Micro Internet, and some TV signals for Shaw Direct Satellite TV.

Anik F2 has lost two of its four thrusters. As a result, continuing to use it uses much more fuel. Telesat has announced that it is getting another satellite to replace Anik F2. An FCC filing by Telesat has since revealed that the company is buying AMC-11 from SES. Once the FCC has issued its permit, Telesat can take over AMC-11 and move it to 111.1° West. It will be renamed Anik F4.

Anik F3

According to SatNews Publishers, Anik F3 is a 4,634 kilograms (10,216 lb) broadcasting and telecommunications satellite which will provide direct-to-home television in the United States, broadband Internet and telecommunications for Bell Canada, and broadcast TV in northern and other remote areas of Canada. It was built by EADS Astrium and launched on a Proton-M rocket. It was successfully placed into orbit by International Launch Services, who also launched Anik F1R, Nimiq 1 and Nimiq 2.

However, before launch, it was announced that Dish would be renting the entire capacity of Anik F3 for its whole expected life of about 15 years. Today, Anik F3 is used by Dish to send its "international" foreign language channels. A slightly larger reflector provided by Dish to its customers is needed to get the weaker (compared to the stronger Ku DBS band used by Dish and DirecTV as their main satellites) Ku FSS band reliably. Also, Dish uses a specially designed "combo" LNB that has both parts needed to get Dish services from both 118 and 119 taking the space of only one LNB. The combo LNB is also available as part of a single LNBF unit that can also get extra Dish programming at 110 and 129 satellite locations for getting Dish's whole Western Arc group of satellites providing both SD and HD content. Dish does not make any 118 only LNBF's for its systems, only the combo 118/119 by itself or as part of a single unit that can also get other Dish satellites.

Anik G1

Anik G1 was launched on April 16, 2013, by a Proton-M from Baikonur Cosmodrome for Telesat.

Anik G1 is a multi-mission satellite made by Space Systems/Loral on its LS1300E design. It has three parts that give direct-to-home (DTH) television service in Canada, as well as broadband, voice, data, and video services in South America where growing economies have driven high demand for satellite services. It is also the first business satellite with a big X-band part, for government communications from 178˚W to 35˚W covering the Americas and the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii. The satellite is placed at 107.3° West where it shares space with Telesat's Anik F1 satellite, doubling both the C-band and Ku-band parts serving South America.

The Anik G1 X-band part was rented to the operators of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Skynet system, helping Skynet grow to almost everywhere.