Because of the success of the Hermes program and under an
arrangement between Telesat Canada and the federal government, the next satellite
commissioned by Telesat - Anik B - was equipped with 4 experimental 14/12 GHz transponders
in addition to 12 commercial radio frequency channels in the 6/4 GHz band used by the
earlier Anik A satellites. Spacecraft construction was awarded to RCA Astro-Electronics
Division.
The launch of Anik-B, on 5 December 1978 ushered in the first commercial Direct
Broadcast Satellite Service (DBS). It was also the first hybrid satellite having channels
in both the 6/4 GHz band and in the 14/12 GHz band. It was both a commercial satellite and
an experimental platform for the Government of Canada. The former Department of
Communications (DOC), in particular the Communications Research Centre (CRC) leased all of
the four 14/12 GHz transponders for a two-year period, to carry on work started with the Hermes/CTS satellite. The 6/4 GHz system was used by Telesat to replace
the operational capacity provided by one of the Anik-A series
satellites.
Anik-B used a 3-axis stabilized spacecraft which was station-kept to within ±0.05°
North-South and East-West. As a result, ground station antennas did not need to track the
satellite. In the 14/12 GHz portion of the spacecraft, there were four 20W TWTAs which
feed four spot beams. Two TWTAs were used for two western beams and two were used for two
eastern beams, for all Canada coverage.
The EIRP of 51 dBw maximum was considerably less than that of Hermes but was typical of
the power levels of commercial satellites that operated in the fixed service.
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