ABS-2A
communications satellite
ABS-2A is an all-electric propulsion commercial communications satellite which is owned and operated by ABS. Co-located with ABS-2 at the 75°E orbital position, the satellite provides coverage over markets in South East Asia, Africa, MENA and Russia. The satellite is equipped with 48 Ku-band transponder and is designed for DTH services, cellular backhaul, VSAT, maritime and mobility solutions.
Manufacture and specifications
The satellite was designed and manufactured by Boeing, and is a Boeing 702SP model communication satellite. It was launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 15 June 2016. The satellite lifted off as part of a dual launch and was the second deployment at 11:05 a.m. EDT.
The satellite is propelled solely by electrically powered spacecraft xenon propulsion, with the on-board thrusters used for both geostationary orbit insertion and station keeping.
The satellite utilizes five Ku-band beams and covers South East Asia, Africa, MENA and Russia.
Launch
The launch occurred on 15 June 2016 at 11.05 a.m. EDT and the satellite was deployed in the planned supersynchronous transfer orbit at 11:40 a.m. EDT.
On-orbit operations
The satellite became fully operational as a geosynchronous communications satellite on 21 January 2017 after orbit raising and in-orbit tests by Boeing and a handover from Boeing to ABS for on-orbit operations.
“ABS-2A” enters the record as communications satellite. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what ABS-2A, communications and satellite can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“ABS-2A” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, ABS-2A, communications and satellite provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14915003. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2016 and 2017.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “ABS-2A”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow ABS-2A primary sources, ABS-2A archive and ABS-2A research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “ABS-2A”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “ABS-2A” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.