BeiDou-2/Compass G3 Satellite Moved
News courtesy of CANSPACE listerv.
The BeiDou-2/Compass geostationary satellite, G3, was moved between about November 7 and 22 from an orbital longitude of 84 degrees east to 110.5 degrees east.
The 110.5 degree east longitude slot had been previously used by BeiDou 1C, one of the demonstration or BeiDou-1 satellites, which was initially shifted to about 85 degrees east between about June 2 and July 7, 2012. BeiDou 1C has drifted slightly since and is currently at 84 degrees east.
According to orbital data supplied by the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center, once BeiDou 1C was shifted to about 85 degrees east longitude, station keeping seems to have been no longer applied. This may imply that the satellite is no longer in use but this has not yet been confirmed.
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