Solar Outages

Solar outages occur when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator and is aligned with the satellite and the antenna beam of an earth station. This causes an important increase in the antenna's temperature that interferes with normal operation.

It is a predictable phenomenon based on the geographical position of the earth station and the length of the satellite. It can take several minutes and lasts more when the diameter of the antenna is smaller, since its beam is wider.

The phenomenon occurs twice a year, during the Spring Equinox (from the end of February to the beginning of March) and during the Autumn Equinox (from the end of September to the beginning of October). Please consult the enclosed solar outage calendar to take the necessary precautions.

Schedules indicated in the table are GMT. If you require data for a specific location not included in the table, please contact our Call Center. From Mexico call toll free 01-800-800-7286 (01-800-800-SATM), and from the United States call toll free 1-877-728-6391 (1-877-SATMEX1), or contact us by e-mail at contacto@satmex.com

Prediction data in the list is for Satmex 6 (113.0°W). Sun outages for Solidaridad 2 (114.9°W) occur 8 minutes 48 seconds later and for Satmex 5 (116.8°W) they happen 17 minutes 35 seconds after those for Satmex 6.

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