Italsat F1 is a communication satellite sponsored by the Italian Space Agency and developed by Alenia Spazio. The spacecraft consists with a platform, which provides all the required services, and three payloads: a global beam package, a multibeam package for domestic communication services at 20/30 GHz, and an experimental propagation package at 40/50 GHz which embraces the European continent. Italsat F1 was sent off by an Ariane IV launcher from the Kourou Space Center in French Guyana on January 16th,1991, and it has been operating since February 1991.
Having gone through a complete cycle of solstices and equinoxes, Italsat experienced the extreme environmental conditions at its beginning of life.
The flight data collected throughout the first year of operational life enabled a review of the spacecraft thermal performances.
This paper presents an overview of in-orbit observed temperatures.
In particular, general spacecraft temperature conditions as well as special equipment thermal behavior will be given major attention.