Men & Motors. Filmnet also left in 1996, to be replaced by Bloomberg Germany in 1997. BSkyB ended their analogue service in 2001, which meant that its services closed down. By the end of 2001, the satellite was moved from 19.2° East to serve few years at 5.2° East. On 19.2° East, the satellite was replaced by Astra 1F. Many channels, including RTL II, RTL, Eurosport, VOX, Sat.1, Kabel Eins, Super RTL and ProSieben were still broadcasting in analogue on the same frequencies in 2009. In December 2004, Astra 1A was moved into a "graveyard orbit" after some time at 5.2° East providing data services. Technical issues As with all GE Astro Space manufactured satellites, the AS-4000 Ku-band satellite design was used for the spacecraft bus, propulsion, thermal protection and solar array, the thermal protection made to protect Astra 1A's 16 transponder payload on board from the Sun's solar wind and cosmic rays. While never confirmed by SES, Astra 1A is believed to have experienced a number of technical problems throughout its lifetime, including overheating and power system anomalies. After the launch of Astra 1C in 1993, two transponders (4 and 15) were moved from Astra 1A to Astra 1C. Transponder 1 was also moved to Astra 1F after its launch, leaving 13 operational transponders on Astra 1A in the late 1990s. Between February and April 1999, transponder 10 was also moved to Astra 1F. In mid-1999, the satellite experienced a loss of power which reduced its usable payload to 6 transponders. Transponders 3, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 16 remained on Astra 1A while the others were transferred to Astra 1F; Astra 1C continued to carry transponders 4 and 15 as before. Documentation provided by SES since this event stated the usable payload as 5/6 transponders. Transponders References External links SES history Astra website Astra at 20, Broadband TV News Astra 1A tribute Astra satellites Derelict satellites orbiting Earth 1988 in Luxembourg Satellites of Luxembourg First artificial satellites of a country Spacecraft launched in 1988