In October 1997, Hughes Space and Communications International Inc. was awarded a
contract for its first commercial satellite for Russia. The contract was awarded by
BONUM-1, a subsidiary of Media Most, a Moscow-based private Russian media group that
develops satellite television broadcasting services for Russia.
The satellite is a high-power version of the HS-376HP,
spin-stabilized spacecraft, one of the most popular spacecraft models. The satellite was
launched onboard a Delta-7925 rocket on Nov.
22, 1998. The delivery in-orbit contract included the satellite, launch vehicle services,
and ground satellite control equipment for use at the control center, and training for the
satellite controllers. The satellite is operated by the BONUM-1 control station, located
in Moscow.
BONUM-1 was the 53rd HS-376 to be ordered. It
contains eight active Ku-band transponders, which, as a result of digital compression
technology, provides up to 50 channels using 80 watt traveling-wave tube amplifiers.
BONUM-1 serves European or West-Siberian parts of Russia, selectable on-orbit by ground
command.
The HS-376HP spin-stabilized spacecraft consists of
two main sections. One is the spinning section, which contains the apogee kick motor,
power system, secondary propulsion, and most of the attitude control and the command and
telemetry subsystem elements. The fully redundant subsystem controls and monitors the
spacecraft through all mission phases. The secondary propulsion subsystem controls
spacecraft orbital velocity, inclination, attitude, and spin speed. The other main section
of the spacecraft is the despun portion, which houses the customized communications
payload, including the transmitters, receivers and antennas.
All HS-376HP models have two telescoping
cylindrical solar panels. These panels and the deployable antennas are stowed for
compactness during launch. The highly reliable design makes full use of a nickel-hydrogen
battery to maintain uninterrupted broadcasting during eclipses. The BONUM solar panels use
gallium arsenide solar cells similar to those proven on previous HS-376HP spacecraft. The HS-376
design minimizes the number of required mechanisms and has never had a deployment failure.
Bonum-1 provided active services until 2010. Finally im December 2014, it was sent to a graveyard orbit.
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