prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who is the spouse of the person who plays Batman in the Lego Batman Movie?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
Batman: Gotham County Line
Batman: Gotham County Line is a three-issue American comic book limited series written by Steve Niles, known for his series 30 Days of Night, and illustrated by Scott Hampton  It follows Batman as a series of ritual murders outside Gotham City leads him into a macabre supernatural realm 

Plot
During a fight with Batman, the Joker raises the issue of the existence of an afterlife, which Batman puts down, along with his nemesis  Jim Gordon summons Batman with a case in the suburbs of Gotham County, where entire families have been killed in the same grisly and ritualistic way, shortly after being robbed by a junkie   Batman investigates one of the crime scenes before being called to another murder in progress where he pursues the killer but is ambushed and knocked out  He is rescued by detectives Keith and Radmuller of the Gotham County Sheriff's Department and questions the junkie thief at his residence   Before the thief can give any information, he is shot by the killer who eludes Batman again, but not before Batman procures a Sheriff's badge from his person, that of Detective Radmuller  Batman arrives at Radmuller's apartment to apprehend him, but Radmuller has set a trap causing Batman to inadvertently hang him by opening the door  The case is solved and Batman returns to Gotham, but Radmuller springs to life in the back of the ambulance transporting his corpse, killing those inside and leading their reanimated corpses back into town 
Bruce is haunted by dreams and visions of reanimated corpses and his parents blaming him for their deaths  He suspects Radmuller of poisoning him with something, though his tests for such come back negative  Detective Keith contacts him to inform him that Radmuller's body is missing, along with those of the most recently murdered family  At the crime scene, Batman and Keith are accosted by the corpse of the murdered father, who shoots Keith with her own gun and flees  Deadman emerges from Keith's body and informs Batman that he is trapped in a world between that of the living and the dead, having been cursed by Radmuller before his death   Deadman tells Batman that he must open his mind if he is to escape the realm and lets slip that he is aware of Batman's secret identity, before they are accosted by a horde of zombies led by Radmuller and Deadman disappears 
Batman attempts to fight the zombies off, but they are immune to his struggles   Radmuller explains that they are the victims of crimes that Batman failed to stop  Batman flees and is saved by the zombie of Jason Todd, who thanks Batman for thinking of him  Batman takes shelter in a decrepit house, where he sees the corpses of Radmuller's parents, who tell how their son killed them just to watch them die  Deadman reappears with the Phantom Stranger, who destroys the attacking zombies  Batman goes to confront Radmuller, on the way meeting his parents, who ask him to believe in something beyond their violent deaths and inspiring Batman to confront Radmuller with his own dead parents  Radmuller's power over the realm dissipates and Batman returns to the moment before the curse was enacted, stopping Radmuller's hanging death and turning him over to the GCSD 

Collected editions
The limited series has been collected in a trade paperback:

Batman: Gotham County Line (180 pages, October 2006, ISBN 140120905X)

Reception
The List called the comic "interesting but not essential" 

Notes
Passage 2:
On Broadway (film)
On Broadway is an independent film, shot in Boston in May 2006, starring Joey McIntyre, Jill Flint, Eliza Dushku, Mike O'Malley, Robert Wahlberg, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett 

Plot
Emotionally devastated by the death of his uncle, Boston carpenter Jack O'Toole (McIntyre) writes a play inspired by the man's wake  When nobody will produce the play, Jack quits his job to produce it himself, imagining that this play will give a new start to the strained relationship Jack has with his father  But the only stage Jack can afford is in the back room of a neighborhood pub  In this humble environment, Jack pulls together a theater company of sorts and brings his story to the stage, and in the process he brings together his family and friends and helps them move beyond their loss 

Cast
Joey McIntyre as Jack O'Toole, a carpenter turned playwright
Eliza Dushku as Lena Wilson, the lead actress in Jack's play
Mike O'Malley as Father Rolie O'Toole, Jack's priest brother
Sean Lawlor as Martin O'Toole, Jack's estranged father
Will Arnett as Tom, the actor and Jack's friend
Amy Poehler as Farrah, Tom's wife
Lance Greene as Billy O'Toole, Pete's son and Jack's cousin
Robert Wahlberg as Kevin Sheehan, Jack's cousin
Vincent Dowling as Augie Burke, a friend of the O'Tooles
Lucas Caleb Rooney as Neil Quinn, Jack's friend
Jill Flint as Kate O'Toole, Jack's wife
Andrew Connolly as Pete O'Toole, Jack's late uncle

Credits
The film was written and directed by playwright/screenwriter Dave McLaughlin and shot by cinematographer Terrence Fitzgerald Hayes  The film was produced by Charlie Harrington 
Additional cast members included Vincent Dowling, Sean Lawlor, Lucas Caleb Rooney, Lance Greene, Andrew Connolly, Peter Giles, Dossy Peabody, Will Harris and Nancy E  Carroll 

Release
On Broadway had its festival release at a sold-out premiere at the Independent Film Festival of Boston on April 27, 2007  It received good reviews  The film went on to screen at the film festivals of Woods Hole, Galway, New Hampshire, Hoboken, New Jersey, Waterfront, Napa and Northampton  It won an award for Best Feature in the Galway Film Fleadh, another for Audience Best Feature in the Woods Hole Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film in the New Hampshire Film Festival and had six nominations in the Hoboken Film Festival   At the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival On Broadway won the Sundance Channel Audience Award for Best Film, and Joey McIntyre won the Best Breakthrough Performance Award at the same festival 
On Broadway had a theatrical release on March 14, 2008 in Boston at the Somerville Theater, West Newton Cinema, Sharon Cinemas 8 and Dedham Community Theater 
Passage 3:
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Batman: Under the Red Hood is a 2010 American animated superhero action thriller direct-to-video film produced by Warner Bros  Animation and released by Warner Home Video  It is the eighth film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies  The writer, Judd Winick, also wrote the "Under the Hood" run in the monthly Batman comic the film is based on  The film was released on July 27, 2010, and received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised its plot, animation, and focus on storytelling  It is generally considered to be one of the best in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line  The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $12 million in home video sales 
The two-disc special edition and Blu-ray also includes an animated short featuring Jonah Hex  An interactive short spiritual sequel/film adaptation, Batman: Death in the Family, was released on October 13, 2020,  ten years after Red Hood 

Plot
Ra's al Ghul realizes his mistake in hiring the Joker to use him as a distraction while he destroyed Europe's financial districts after learning that he has captured Jason Todd, the second Robin, Batman's partner  In Sarajevo, Bosnia, Joker brutally assaults Jason, in an abandoned warehouse with a crowbar  Jason is locked in the warehouse with a bomb, which explodes and kills him before Batman arrives 
Five years later in Gotham City, a mysterious vigilante called Red Hood assembles a meeting of the city's most prominent drug dealers  He announces a takeover of their drug trade, taking only 40% of the profit while offering them protection from both Black Mask and Batman - under punishment of death to anyone caught dealing drugs to children 
Batman stops an attempted theft of a shipment belonging to Black Mask, which is the advanced android Amazo  Batman destroys Amazo with the help of Jason's predecessor Dick Grayson a k a  Nightwing and discovers the thieves are working for Red Hood who then kills them  He chases Red Hood to Ace Chemicals, where an explosion destroys the facility  Batman and Nightwing interrogate Joker at Arkham Asylum about Red Hood, but he denies involvement 

Black Mask puts a hit on Red Hood for Amazo's destruction  Batman and Nightwing prevent Red Hood from hijacking Black Mask's next weapon shipment  They chase Red Hood to a train station, where he escapes after detonating a bomb, which injures Nightwing  Batman and Nightwing realize Red Hood is trained and has knowledge of Batman's tactics and gear  A review of audio footage of the chase reveals Red Hood knows Batman's secret identity 
Batman recalls Jason performing the same maneuvers as Robin and that Jason grew more violent and bloodthirsty as he aged, with Batman having to stop him many times from nearly killing criminals  The Fearsome Hand of 4 lure out Red Hood and nearly overpower him until Batman helps incapacitate three of them and Red Hood kills the fourth, horrifying Batman  Red Hood explains he is doing what Batman will not: killing criminals who are not afraid 
Batman analyzes a blood sample of Red Hood drawn from the battle and it matches Jason's  After discovering Jason's corpse is fake, Batman confronts Ra's al Ghul and demands to know the truth  Ra's explains that he felt responsible for Jason's death and, as a peace offering, he swapped Jason's body for a fake and revived him in the Lazarus Pit  Following his resurrection, Jason was driven insane and escaped 
After surviving an assassination attempt by Red Hood, Black Mask sets Joker free, tasking him with killing Red Hood  However, Joker instead abducts Black Mask and the drug dealers and plans to set them on fire; Red Hood appears and reveals his real target all along has been the Joker  Batman saves the hostages and Red Hood takes Joker  Red Hood brutally beats Joker in revenge for his own murder and confronts Batman 
During the fight, Red Hood removes his helmet, confirming he is Jason  Their fight makes its way to the dilapidated building where Jason is keeping the Joker and ends with Jason holding Batman at gunpoint  Though he has forgiven Batman for not saving him, Jason is upset and angry that Joker is still alive after killing him  Batman admits he has thought constantly about torturing and killing the Joker but will not, fearing he will not stop if he kills even once 
Jason tosses Batman a gun and gives him an ultimatum – he will execute the Joker unless Batman shoots him  Batman refuses and drops the gun, causing Jason to shoot at him  Batman throws a batarang, which jams Jason's pistol  When Jason pulls the trigger again, the gun is destroyed and his right hand gets mangled  Defeated, Jason sets off a time bomb and Batman subdues Joker before attempting to save Jason 
The bomb explodes; Batman and Joker survive but Jason is gone  Joker is returned to Arkham and Black Mask is arrested for his involvement in the Joker's escape  At the Batcave, Alfred offers to remove the glass case display of Jason's Robin costume after everything that has happened, but Bruce refuses, claiming it doesn't change anything 
A final flashback shows Jason's first day as Robin, which he cheerfully declares is the best day of his life 

Cast
Crew
Andrea Romano – Voice Director

Music
The score for Batman: Under the Red Hood was composed by Christopher Drake, who had previously scored several animated films set in the DC Universe  It was inspired by the soundtracks of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm which features a traditional orchestral score and The Dark Knight which features a computer generated, electronic score  Drake said that since Under the Red Hood has a darker tone than previous DC Universe animated films, he chose not to use the music as epic and melodramatic instead opting for a more intimate, minimal and restrained tone  He added that this is the first DC film he has scored that didn't rely on using a large choir to make the fight scenes sound bigger  Drake scored the film as a reference to modern minimalist electronic scores because the film's director Brandon Vietti felt that Under the Red Hood needed to go in a different, more modern direction to separate it from previous DC animation scores  At that point, Drake introduced more electronic and ambient elements, like synthesized and processed electronic guitar, while retaining orchestral elements Batman: Under The Red Hood – Soundtrack to The Animated Original Movie was released by WaterTower Music on July 27, 2010 and features 18 tracks composed for the film 

Commercial performance
The film grossed over $12 million in domestic home video sales, making it one of the highest grossing DC animated films 

Critical reception
Batman: Under the Red Hood received positive reviews from critics who praised the film's direction, animation, emotional weight of the story, and voice acting particularly for Jensen Ackles  On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from seven critics, with an average rating of a 7 3/10  
Demeter's review for The World's Finest stated: "I have to say this really was a damn good film"  James Harvey's review on the same website was even more positive, calling it "a mature and faithful take on the Batman lore"  IGN gave the movie an 8 out of 10, calling it "An interesting peek inside the psyche of Batman and the fine line between good and evil"  It was the highest rated direct-to-video Batman film until the release of The Dark Knight Returns 

Continuation
A follow-up film titled Batman: Death in the Family was released on October 13, 2020, a decade after Under the Red Hood with Greenwood, Martella, and DiMaggio reprising their roles  Zehra Fazal plays Talia al Ghul and Gary Cole plays both Two-Face and Commissioner Gordon  It is an interactive narrative where the viewer chooses what happens in the story 
Passage 4:
Batman Bridge
The Batman Bridge is a modern road bridge that carries the Batman Highway across the Tamar River, between Whirlpool Reach, Hillwood at its eastern end and Sidmouth / Deviot midpoint at its western end, in north Tasmania, Australia  The bridge connects the Batman Highway with the West Tamar Highway (state route A7) and the East Tamar Highway (state route A8)  The bridge overlooks the Deviot Sailing Club and is named in honour of John Batman, a Launceston businessman and co-founder of Melbourne 

Design features
Built between 1966 and 1968, it was the first cable-stayed bridge in Australia and among the first such bridges in the world  The main span is 206 metres (676 ft) long, suspended from a 91-metre-high (299 ft) steel A-frame tower  The deck is 10 3 metres (34 ft) wide  The tower is on the west bank of the Tamar river, on a solid dolerite rock base which carries 78% of the weight of the main span  The length of the bridge is 432 metres (1,417 ft) between abutments  The east bank is soft clay not capable of supporting a bridge  A causeway carries the highway across this softer base, supported by four piers built on piles driven up to 18 metres (59 ft) into the clay  The bridge deck is constructed of steel 

Gallery
Passage 5:
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Batman Movie (stylized as The LEGO Batman Movie) is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros  Pictures  It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington  Based on the characters from the DC Universe created by DC Comics and the Lego DC Super Heroes' Batman toy line, the film is a collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark, the first spin-off in The Lego Movie franchise and the second installment overall  The film features Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie alongside Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes  The story follows the title character (Arnett) as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear to stop the Joker's (Galifianakis) latest plan 
Development of The Lego Batman Movie started in October 2014, after Warner Bros  announced several Lego films, following the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie, while Chris McKay was hired to direct the film after being replaced by Rob Schrab to direct the sequel to The Lego Movie  He cited both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series as his main inspirations  Casting call began in July to November 2015  The film pays homage to previous Batman films, cartoons, and comics  The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them  Like The Lego Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic  Lorne Balfe composed the film's musical score 
The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017 in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D and 4DX formats  The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, score, visual style, and humor, and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of around $80 million  A sequel, Lego Superfriends, was announced in 2018, but was cancelled after Universal Pictures acquired the Lego franchise rights, with Zach's casting being the main criminal of the film 

Plot
Within the DC superhero dimension of the Lego multiverse, Batman protects Gotham City and fights crime  During his latest mission to stop the Joker, Kite Man, Crazy Quilt, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Kabuki Twins, Calculator, Captain Boomerang, Man-Bat, Red Hood and more villains from destroying the city, Batman succeeds, but also hurts the Joker's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading the Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him 
The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara to replace him  Wayne is smitten by Barbara, and this distraction results in him unwittingly agreeing to adopt the enthusiastic orphan Dick Grayson  Wayne is then infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman  The Joker crashes the party with his villain team  The Joker surrenders himself to police, while capturing almost all the villains for the police, except Harley Quinn  With so many villains incarcerated, Batman becomes desolate as Gotham no longer requires his crime-fighting skills 
Suspecting that the Joker is up to no good, Batman plans to steal Superman's Phantom Zone projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the Lego multiverse, only for Alfred to intervene and advise him to take care of Dick  Batman initially refuses, so Alfred allows Dick to enter the Batcave  Appearing as Batman before Dick, Batman states that he is also adopting Dick, and fosters Dick as Robin to help in his scheme  Batman and Robin recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude, break into Arkham Asylum and successfully send the Joker to the Phantom Zone  Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin 
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of the Joker's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the multiverse's villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including Sauron, who informs the Joker that Batman is Bruce Wayne  The criminals attack Gotham and take over Wayne Island  Realizing that Gotham does need Batman after all, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the new threat  Although his teammates achieve some success in fighting the multiverse's villains, Batman forcibly sends them away and confronts the Joker alone, fearing that he might lose them just like his parents 
Believing that Batman is incapable of changing his ways, the Joker sends him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs to destroy Gotham  Meanwhile, Phyllis, the Phantom Zone's gatekeeper, shows Batman how he has mistreated Dick, Alfred, Barbara and the Joker  Batman accepts his greatest fear, being part of a family, and decides to change  Batman's teammates return to the fight to help him, but are endangered themselves  Batman makes a deal with Phyllis to temporarily return to Gotham to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, and arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for leaving them and requesting their help to stop the Joker  They agree, with Barbara taking on the Batgirl costume 
With help from Bane, Orca and Egghead, who felt neglected by the Joker when he refused to break them out of Arkham, Batman and his team defeat the escaped multiverse's villains and send them back to the Phantom Zone  However, the Joker's bombs explode, tearing Gotham apart at the plates below the city  Batman convinces Joker to help him by telling him he gives him purpose to be the hero he is, and with the help of every civilian and villain, they manage to save Gotham, chain-linking themselves together to reassemble the plates 
In the aftermath, Batman reveals to Dick that he is Wayne in disguise, then goes to return to the Phantom Zone to face the consequences of his earlier behavior  Phyllis prevents Batman from entering the Phantom Zone, after realizing he is a hero and seeing how he changed to save everyone  Afterward, Batman gives the Joker, the Penguin, Bane, Mr  Freeze, Clayface, the Riddler, Harley, the Kabuki Twins and the rest of the villains a headstart, knowing they will be no match for the Bat-family 

Voice cast
Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire by day and superhero by night, who defends Gotham City from crime  Arnett also voiced the character in The Lego Movie and later reprised his role in its sequel 
Zach Galifianakis as Joker: A clown-themed villain in Gotham City and Batman's archenemy, who defines himself by his conflict with him 
Michael Cera as Dick Grayson / Robin: An orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne, and becomes a sidekick to Batman 
Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl: The newly elected police commissioner of Gotham, who hopes to restructure the Gotham City Police Department so that the city could defend itself without Batman  She eventually comes to trust Batman and becomes Batgirl 
Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family's butler, and Bruce's father figure and only confidant  Fiennes later reprised his role in The Lego Movie 2 
Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, The Joker's girlfriend and accomplice 
Héctor Elizondo as James Gordon, the retired police commissioner of Gotham and Barbara's father 
Ellie Kemper as Phyllis, a brick who is the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone 
Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, the mayor of Gotham 
Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the police chief of Gotham 
Todd Hansen and Chris McKay respectively as Captain Dale and Pilot Bill, the two pilots of the airplane hijacked by the Joker at the beginning of the film 
Brent Musburger, Ralph Garman, and Chris Hardwick make cameo appearances as three unnamed reporters 
Mark Jonathan Davis as a fictionalized version of himself (his character Richard Cheese also appears through the use of archival recordings) 
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as Superman and Green Lantern, both reprising their respective roles from The Lego Movie 
Adam DeVine as The Flash Several actors voice the various villains from Batman's rogues gallery, including Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face (as a nod to his role as Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity, in the 1989 Batman film), Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, Conan O'Brien as Riddler, Jason Mantzoukas as the Scarecrow, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman (she would later portray Catwoman in The Batman), Matt Villa as Killer Croc, Kate Micucci as Clayface, Doug Benson as Bane (the character's appearance and Benson's performance are meant to satirize Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), John Venzon as Penguin, (the character's appearance is a nod to Danny DeVito‘s portrayal of Penguin in Batman Returns), David Burrows as Mr  Freeze (Burrows also voices an anchorman), and Laura Kightlinger as Orca (Kightlinger also voices a reporter)  The film also features villains from other franchises, including Sauron's Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (voiced by Jemaine Clement), the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (also voiced by Riki Lindhome), Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter (voiced by Eddie Izzard), King Kong from King Kong, the Swamp Creature from various monster films (both voiced by Seth Green), Medusa from Greek mythology (also voiced by Lauren White), and the Daleks from Doctor Who (voiced by Nicholas Briggs, reprising his role from the television series) 
The voice of the Batcomputer (credited as 'Puter), depicted here as an artificial intelligence controlling all of Batman's gadgets and vehicles, is done by Siri Archive footage of Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger from Jerry Maguire is used 

Production
Development
In October 2014, following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros  greenlit multiple Lego films, including The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman  Warner Bros  scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie for May 26, 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to May 25, 2018  Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, making it his solo directorial debut  Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller  On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros  moved up The Lego Batman Movie to a February 10, 2017 release  The film itself also serves as the first theatrically released animated feature to be based on a licensed property, which explains the lack of yellow Lego figures, despite Emmet Brickowski, the main character of the Lego Movie, making a small cameo 
In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two-and-a-half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie  His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann"  His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting  In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:
"I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt Ward Robin and sticking him in the Batmobile with the Zack Snyder/Ben Affleck Batman, or the Frank Miller Batman  And putting these two different energies together  Somebody who’s like the grumpiest, dark grittiest, broodiest Batman with the most positive, indefatigable kid "
In 2019, prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind  Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn and Bianca, though the characters did not appear within the film, although Bianca was alluded to as Phyllis' boss 

Casting
In July 2015, Arnett's Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin  In August 2015, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker  In October 2015, Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon who later becomes the crime-fighting heroine Batgirl  The following month, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler  Initial reports indicated that Mariah Carey was playing Commissioner Gordon  However, she was actually cast as Mayor McCaskill 

Batman and pop culture references
As part of its production, the film was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics  In two distinct scenes where Barbara Gordon depicts Batman's long history of services for the police and Alfred quotes Batman's previous films (as previous moments of emotional crisis), they mention: the 1940s Batman serials (erroneously placed earlier than his comic books appearances); the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989)  Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used  In most cases, their appearances in the film are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin  Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight) Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film  The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series  The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; The Flash; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins and Gleek  Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the film as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave, referencing the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises  These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts and the Gremlins  The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me" (which makes Batman laugh out loud); this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight  In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions Fox Force Five, which is the name of Mia Wallace's failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction  The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed  The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata The casting of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face references the 1989 Batman film, in which Williams played District Attorney Harvey Dent, before his transition to Two-Face  Director Chris McKay said the film's depiction of Gotham City was inspired by Chicago partly due to  Christopher Nolan having filmed The Dark Knight Trilogy in Chicago A scene from The Lego Movie is reused in the film, depicting Emmet falling down from Lord Business's tower into the real world, as television journalists explain what would happen if Joker detonates his bomb 

Music
The Lego Batman Movie is the first in the franchise not to be composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; the film score is composed by Lorne Balfe  The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, through two-disc CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017 

Marketing
The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa  It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres  A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman  A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016  A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016  Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures  A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film  The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer  A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces  As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign Warner Bros  released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release  LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks  The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS  In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release  All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman, move your head " instead of the usual "Greg, move your head " In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show 

Release
Theatrical
The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, where upon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 10  Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D and 4DX  though the latter format was restricted to 3D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX The Lego Batman Movie is notably the first animated movie based on Batman to receive a full theatrical release since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) 

Home media
The LEGO Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017  The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?  The LEGO Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros  Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017  The film debuted at No  3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart 

Reception
Box office
The Lego Batman Movie grossed $175 8 million in the United States and Canada and $136 2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million In the United States and Canada, The Lego Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million from 4,088 theaters in its opening weekend  It earned $2 2 million from Thursday-night previews and $14 5 million on Friday  It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office  In its second weekend, the film grossed $32 7 million (a small drop of 38 4%), again topping the box office; with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42 7 million for the weekend  In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19 2 million (a drop of 41 2%) Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days  It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9 3 million in the United Kingdom, $2 6 million in Mexico, $2 3 million in Germany and $2 2 million in Russia 

Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 315 reviews, with an average rating of 7 5/10  The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem " It was ranked the 23rd best superhero movie of all time on the site  On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The LEGO Batman Movie isn't the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don't think it's trying to be  It's trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom  (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both ) And at that, The LEGO Batman Movie succeeds " Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "LEGO Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end  It flirts with being too much of a good thing  But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste " Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule " Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which "snap together, with a satisfying click "

Accolades
Other media
Sets
Video games
Lego Dimensions includes characters from various franchises, including The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie  The game's Starter Pack includes Wyldstyle, while Emmet, Benny, Bad Cop, and Unikitty are included in Fun Packs  From The Lego Batman Movie, Robin and Batgirl are included in a Story Pack while Excalibur Batman is included in a Fun Pack  However, Robin gets his voice actor changed in the game to Robbie Daymond and can also use his appearance from Teen Titans Go! if he is used in the Teen Titans Go! World 
Based on The Lego Batman Movie, Warner Bros  Interactive Entertainment released the endless-runner game coinciding with the release of the film  It was released for Android and iOS 

Cancelled sequel
On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to the film was in the works, with him returning to direct  The film was set for release in 2022  However, following the box office underperformance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to The Lego Movie franchise in 2020, effectively cancelling the sequel due to the rights of DC Comics being owned by Warner Bros In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon  It would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main villains would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC  Waldron revealed that the film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends 
Passage 6:
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Batman Movie (stylized as The LEGO Batman Movie) is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros  Pictures  It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington  Based on the characters from the DC Universe created by DC Comics and the Lego DC Super Heroes' Batman toy line, the film is a collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark, the first spin-off in The Lego Movie franchise and the second installment overall  The film features Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie alongside Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes  The story follows the title character (Arnett) as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear to stop the Joker's (Galifianakis) latest plan 
Development of The Lego Batman Movie started in October 2014, after Warner Bros  announced several Lego films, following the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie, while Chris McKay was hired to direct the film after being replaced by Rob Schrab to direct the sequel to The Lego Movie  He cited both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series as his main inspirations  Casting call began in July to November 2015  The film pays homage to previous Batman films, cartoons, and comics  The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them  Like The Lego Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic  Lorne Balfe composed the film's musical score 
The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017 in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D and 4DX formats  The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, score, visual style, and humor, and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of around $80 million  A sequel, Lego Superfriends, was announced in 2018, but was cancelled after Universal Pictures acquired the Lego franchise rights, with Zach's casting being the main criminal of the film 

Plot
Within the DC superhero dimension of the Lego multiverse, Batman protects Gotham City and fights crime  During his latest mission to stop the Joker, Kite Man, Crazy Quilt, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Kabuki Twins, Calculator, Captain Boomerang, Man-Bat, Red Hood and more villains from destroying the city, Batman succeeds, but also hurts the Joker's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading the Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him 
The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara to replace him  Wayne is smitten by Barbara, and this distraction results in him unwittingly agreeing to adopt the enthusiastic orphan Dick Grayson  Wayne is then infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman  The Joker crashes the party with his villain team  The Joker surrenders himself to police, while capturing almost all the villains for the police, except Harley Quinn  With so many villains incarcerated, Batman becomes desolate as Gotham no longer requires his crime-fighting skills 
Suspecting that the Joker is up to no good, Batman plans to steal Superman's Phantom Zone projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the Lego multiverse, only for Alfred to intervene and advise him to take care of Dick  Batman initially refuses, so Alfred allows Dick to enter the Batcave  Appearing as Batman before Dick, Batman states that he is also adopting Dick, and fosters Dick as Robin to help in his scheme  Batman and Robin recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude, break into Arkham Asylum and successfully send the Joker to the Phantom Zone  Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin 
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of the Joker's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the multiverse's villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including Sauron, who informs the Joker that Batman is Bruce Wayne  The criminals attack Gotham and take over Wayne Island  Realizing that Gotham does need Batman after all, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the new threat  Although his teammates achieve some success in fighting the multiverse's villains, Batman forcibly sends them away and confronts the Joker alone, fearing that he might lose them just like his parents 
Believing that Batman is incapable of changing his ways, the Joker sends him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs to destroy Gotham  Meanwhile, Phyllis, the Phantom Zone's gatekeeper, shows Batman how he has mistreated Dick, Alfred, Barbara and the Joker  Batman accepts his greatest fear, being part of a family, and decides to change  Batman's teammates return to the fight to help him, but are endangered themselves  Batman makes a deal with Phyllis to temporarily return to Gotham to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, and arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for leaving them and requesting their help to stop the Joker  They agree, with Barbara taking on the Batgirl costume 
With help from Bane, Orca and Egghead, who felt neglected by the Joker when he refused to break them out of Arkham, Batman and his team defeat the escaped multiverse's villains and send them back to the Phantom Zone  However, the Joker's bombs explode, tearing Gotham apart at the plates below the city  Batman convinces Joker to help him by telling him he gives him purpose to be the hero he is, and with the help of every civilian and villain, they manage to save Gotham, chain-linking themselves together to reassemble the plates 
In the aftermath, Batman reveals to Dick that he is Wayne in disguise, then goes to return to the Phantom Zone to face the consequences of his earlier behavior  Phyllis prevents Batman from entering the Phantom Zone, after realizing he is a hero and seeing how he changed to save everyone  Afterward, Batman gives the Joker, the Penguin, Bane, Mr  Freeze, Clayface, the Riddler, Harley, the Kabuki Twins and the rest of the villains a headstart, knowing they will be no match for the Bat-family 

Voice cast
Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire by day and superhero by night, who defends Gotham City from crime  Arnett also voiced the character in The Lego Movie and later reprised his role in its sequel 
Zach Galifianakis as Joker: A clown-themed villain in Gotham City and Batman's archenemy, who defines himself by his conflict with him 
Michael Cera as Dick Grayson / Robin: An orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne, and becomes a sidekick to Batman 
Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl: The newly elected police commissioner of Gotham, who hopes to restructure the Gotham City Police Department so that the city could defend itself without Batman  She eventually comes to trust Batman and becomes Batgirl 
Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family's butler, and Bruce's father figure and only confidant  Fiennes later reprised his role in The Lego Movie 2 
Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, The Joker's girlfriend and accomplice 
Héctor Elizondo as James Gordon, the retired police commissioner of Gotham and Barbara's father 
Ellie Kemper as Phyllis, a brick who is the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone 
Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, the mayor of Gotham 
Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the police chief of Gotham 
Todd Hansen and Chris McKay respectively as Captain Dale and Pilot Bill, the two pilots of the airplane hijacked by the Joker at the beginning of the film 
Brent Musburger, Ralph Garman, and Chris Hardwick make cameo appearances as three unnamed reporters 
Mark Jonathan Davis as a fictionalized version of himself (his character Richard Cheese also appears through the use of archival recordings) 
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as Superman and Green Lantern, both reprising their respective roles from The Lego Movie 
Adam DeVine as The Flash Several actors voice the various villains from Batman's rogues gallery, including Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face (as a nod to his role as Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity, in the 1989 Batman film), Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, Conan O'Brien as Riddler, Jason Mantzoukas as the Scarecrow, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman (she would later portray Catwoman in The Batman), Matt Villa as Killer Croc, Kate Micucci as Clayface, Doug Benson as Bane (the character's appearance and Benson's performance are meant to satirize Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), John Venzon as Penguin, (the character's appearance is a nod to Danny DeVito‘s portrayal of Penguin in Batman Returns), David Burrows as Mr  Freeze (Burrows also voices an anchorman), and Laura Kightlinger as Orca (Kightlinger also voices a reporter)  The film also features villains from other franchises, including Sauron's Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (voiced by Jemaine Clement), the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (also voiced by Riki Lindhome), Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter (voiced by Eddie Izzard), King Kong from King Kong, the Swamp Creature from various monster films (both voiced by Seth Green), Medusa from Greek mythology (also voiced by Lauren White), and the Daleks from Doctor Who (voiced by Nicholas Briggs, reprising his role from the television series) 
The voice of the Batcomputer (credited as 'Puter), depicted here as an artificial intelligence controlling all of Batman's gadgets and vehicles, is done by Siri Archive footage of Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger from Jerry Maguire is used 

Production
Development
In October 2014, following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros  greenlit multiple Lego films, including The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman  Warner Bros  scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie for May 26, 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to May 25, 2018  Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, making it his solo directorial debut  Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller  On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros  moved up The Lego Batman Movie to a February 10, 2017 release  The film itself also serves as the first theatrically released animated feature to be based on a licensed property, which explains the lack of yellow Lego figures, despite Emmet Brickowski, the main character of the Lego Movie, making a small cameo 
In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two-and-a-half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie  His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann"  His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting  In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:
"I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt Ward Robin and sticking him in the Batmobile with the Zack Snyder/Ben Affleck Batman, or the Frank Miller Batman  And putting these two different energies together  Somebody who’s like the grumpiest, dark grittiest, broodiest Batman with the most positive, indefatigable kid "
In 2019, prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind  Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn and Bianca, though the characters did not appear within the film, although Bianca was alluded to as Phyllis' boss 

Casting
In July 2015, Arnett's Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin  In August 2015, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker  In October 2015, Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon who later becomes the crime-fighting heroine Batgirl  The following month, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler  Initial reports indicated that Mariah Carey was playing Commissioner Gordon  However, she was actually cast as Mayor McCaskill 

Batman and pop culture references
As part of its production, the film was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics  In two distinct scenes where Barbara Gordon depicts Batman's long history of services for the police and Alfred quotes Batman's previous films (as previous moments of emotional crisis), they mention: the 1940s Batman serials (erroneously placed earlier than his comic books appearances); the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989)  Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used  In most cases, their appearances in the film are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin  Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight) Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film  The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series  The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; The Flash; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins and Gleek  Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the film as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave, referencing the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises  These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts and the Gremlins  The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me" (which makes Batman laugh out loud); this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight  In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions Fox Force Five, which is the name of Mia Wallace's failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction  The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed  The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata The casting of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face references the 1989 Batman film, in which Williams played District Attorney Harvey Dent, before his transition to Two-Face  Director Chris McKay said the film's depiction of Gotham City was inspired by Chicago partly due to  Christopher Nolan having filmed The Dark Knight Trilogy in Chicago A scene from The Lego Movie is reused in the film, depicting Emmet falling down from Lord Business's tower into the real world, as television journalists explain what would happen if Joker detonates his bomb 

Music
The Lego Batman Movie is the first in the franchise not to be composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; the film score is composed by Lorne Balfe  The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, through two-disc CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017 

Marketing
The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa  It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres  A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman  A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016  A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016  Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures  A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film  The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer  A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces  As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign Warner Bros  released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release  LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks  The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS  In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release  All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman, move your head " instead of the usual "Greg, move your head " In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show 

Release
Theatrical
The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, where upon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 10  Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D and 4DX  though the latter format was restricted to 3D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX The Lego Batman Movie is notably the first animated movie based on Batman to receive a full theatrical release since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) 

Home media
The LEGO Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017  The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?  The LEGO Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros  Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017  The film debuted at No  3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart 

Reception
Box office
The Lego Batman Movie grossed $175 8 million in the United States and Canada and $136 2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million In the United States and Canada, The Lego Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million from 4,088 theaters in its opening weekend  It earned $2 2 million from Thursday-night previews and $14 5 million on Friday  It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office  In its second weekend, the film grossed $32 7 million (a small drop of 38 4%), again topping the box office; with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42 7 million for the weekend  In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19 2 million (a drop of 41 2%) Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days  It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9 3 million in the United Kingdom, $2 6 million in Mexico, $2 3 million in Germany and $2 2 million in Russia 

Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 315 reviews, with an average rating of 7 5/10  The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem " It was ranked the 23rd best superhero movie of all time on the site  On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The LEGO Batman Movie isn't the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don't think it's trying to be  It's trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom  (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both ) And at that, The LEGO Batman Movie succeeds " Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "LEGO Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end  It flirts with being too much of a good thing  But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste " Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule " Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which "snap together, with a satisfying click "

Accolades
Other media
Sets
Video games
Lego Dimensions includes characters from various franchises, including The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie  The game's Starter Pack includes Wyldstyle, while Emmet, Benny, Bad Cop, and Unikitty are included in Fun Packs  From The Lego Batman Movie, Robin and Batgirl are included in a Story Pack while Excalibur Batman is included in a Fun Pack  However, Robin gets his voice actor changed in the game to Robbie Daymond and can also use his appearance from Teen Titans Go! if he is used in the Teen Titans Go! World 
Based on The Lego Batman Movie, Warner Bros  Interactive Entertainment released the endless-runner game coinciding with the release of the film  It was released for Android and iOS 

Cancelled sequel
On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to the film was in the works, with him returning to direct  The film was set for release in 2022  However, following the box office underperformance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to The Lego Movie franchise in 2020, effectively cancelling the sequel due to the rights of DC Comics being owned by Warner Bros In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon  It would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main villains would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC  Waldron revealed that the film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends 
Context 2: Passage 1:
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)  It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun-synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV in 1993, only commercially available from Russia  PSLV can also launch small size satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) Some notable payloads launched by PSLV include India's first lunar probe Chandrayaan-1, India's first interplanetary mission, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) and India's first space observatory, Astrosat PSLV has gained credibility as a leading provider of rideshare services for small satellites, owing to its numerous multi-satellite deployment campaigns with auxiliary payloads, usually ride-sharing along with an Indian primary payload  As of June 2022, PSLV has launched 345 foreign satellites from 36 countries  Most notable among these was the launch of PSLV-C37 on 15 February 2017, successfully deploying 104 satellites in sun-synchronous orbit, tripling the previous record held by Russia for the highest number of satellites sent to space on a single launch, until 24 January 2021, when SpaceX launched the Transporter-1 mission on a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 143 satellites into orbit Payloads can be integrated in tandem configuration employing a Dual Launch Adapter  Smaller payloads are also placed on equipment deck and customized payload adapters 

Development
Studies by the PSLV Planning group under S Srinivasan to develop a vehicle capable of delivering a 600 kg payload to a 550 km sun-synchronous orbit from SHAR began in 1978  Among 35 proposed configurations, four were picked; by November 1980, a vehicle configuration with two strap-ons on a core booster (S80) with 80 tonne solid propellant loading each, a liquid stage with 30 tonne propellant load (L30), and an upper stage called the Perigee-Apogee System (PAS) was being considered By 1981, confidence grew in remote sensing spacecraft development with the launch of Bhaskara-1, and the PSLV project objectives were upgraded to have the vehicle deliver a 1000 kg payload into a 900 km SSO  As technology transfer of Viking rocket engine firmed up, a new lighter configuration with the inclusion of a liquid powered stage was selected  Funding was approved in July 1982 for the finalized design, employing a single large S125 solid core as first stage with six 9 tonne strap-ons (S9) derived from the SLV-3 first stage, liquid fueled second stage (L33), and two solid upper stages (S7 and S2 ) This configuration needed further improvement to meet the orbital injection accuracy requirements of IRS satellites, and hence, the solid terminal stage (S2) was replaced with a pressure fed liquid fueled stage (L1 8 or LUS) powered by twin engines derived from roll control engines of the first stage  Apart from increasing precision, liquid upper stage also absorbed any deviation in performance of solid third stage  The final configuration of PSLV-D1 to fly in 1993 was (6 × S9 + S125) + L37 5 + S7 + L2 The inertial navigation systems are developed by ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) at Thiruvananthapuram  The liquid propulsion for the second and fourth stages of the PSLV as well as the Reaction control systems (RCS) are developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala near Thiruvananthapuram, kerala  The solid propellant motors are processed at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, which also carries out launch operations 
The PSLV was first launched on 20 September 1993  The first and second stages performed as expected, but an attitude control problem led to the collision of the second and third stages at separation, and the payload failed to reach orbit  After this initial setback, the PSLV successfully completed its second mission in 1994  The fourth launch of PSLV suffered a partial failure in 1997, leaving its payload in a lower than planned orbit  In November 2014, the PSLV had launched 34 times with no further failures  (Although launch 41: August 2017 PSLV-C39 was unsuccessful )
PSLV continues to support Indian and foreign satellite launches especially for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites  It has undergone several improvements with each subsequent version, especially those involving thrust, efficiency as well as weight  In November 2013, it was used to launch the Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary probe In June 2018, the Union Cabinet approved ₹6,131 crore (equivalent to ₹72 billion or US$900 million in 2023) for 30 operational flights of the PSLV scheduled to take place between 2019 and 2024 ISRO is working towards handing over the production and operation of PSLV to private industry through a joint venture  On 16 August 2019, NewSpace India Limited issued an invitation to tender for manufacturing PSLV entirely by private industries  On 5 September 2022, NewSpace India Limited signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Larsen & Toubro led conglomerate for the production of five PSLV-XL launch vehicles after they won competitive bidding  Under this contract, they have to deliver their first PSLV-XL within 24 months and the remaining four vehicles every six months 

Vehicle description
The PSLV has four stages, using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately 

First stage (PS1)
The first stage, one of the largest solid rocket boosters in the world, carries 138 t (136 long tons; 152 short tons) of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene-bound (HTPB) propellant and develops a maximum thrust of about 4,800 kN (1,100,000 lbf)  The 2 8 m (9 ft 2 in) diameter motor case is made of maraging steel and has an empty mass of 30,200 kg (66,600 lb) Pitch and yaw control during first stage flight is provided by the Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control (SITVC) System, which injects an aqueous solution of strontium perchlorate into the S139 exhaust divergent from a ring of 24 injection ports to produce asymmetric thrust  The solution is stored in two cylindrical aluminium tanks strapped to the core solid rocket motor and pressurised with nitrogen  Underneath these two SITVC tanks, Roll Control Thruster (RCT) modules with small bi-propellant (MMH/MON) liquid engine are also attached On the PSLV-G and PSLV-XL, first stage thrust is augmented by six strap-on solid boosters  Four boosters are ground-lit and the remaining two ignite 25 seconds after launch  The solid boosters carry 9 t (8 9 long tons; 9 9 short tons) or 12 t (12 long tons; 13 short tons) (for PSLV-XL configuration) propellant and produce 510 kN (110,000 lbf) and 719 kN (162,000 lbf) thrust respectively  Two strap-on boosters are equipped with SITVC for additional attitude control  The PSLV-CA uses no strap-on boosters 
First stage separation is aided by four pairs of retro-rockets installed on inter-stage (1/2L)  During staging, these eight rockets help push away the spent stage away from second stage 

Second stage (PS2)
The second stage is powered by a single Vikas engine and carries 41 5 t (40 8 long tons; 45 7 short tons) of Earth store-able liquid propellant – unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidiser in two tanks separated by a common bulkhead  It generates a maximum thrust of 800 kN (180,000 lbf)  The engine is gimbaled (±4°) in two planes to provide pitch and yaw control by two actuators, while roll control is provided by a Hot gas Reaction Control Motor (HRCM) that ejects hot gases diverted from gas generator of Vikas engine On inter-stage (1/2U) of PS2  there are two pairs of ullage rockets to maintain positive acceleration during PS1/PS2 staging and also two pairs of retro-rockets to help push away spent stage during PS2/PS3 staging Second stage also carries some quantity of water in a toroidal tank at its bottom  Water spray is used to cool hot gases from Vikas' gas generator to about 600 °C before entering turbopump  Propellant and water tanks of second stage are pressurized by Helium 

Third stage (PS3)
The third stage uses 7 6 t (7 5 long tons; 8 4 short tons) of HTPB solid propellant and produces a maximum thrust of 250 kN (56,000 lbf)  Its burn duration is 113 5 seconds  It has a Kevlar-polyamide fibre case and a submerged nozzle equipped with a flex-bearing-seal gimbaled nozzle with ±2° thrust vector for pitch and yaw control  Roll control is provided by the fourth stage reaction control system (RCS) during thrust phase as well as during combined-coasting phase under which burnt-out PS3 remains attached to PS4 

Fourth stage (PS4)
The fourth stage is powered by regeneratively cooled twin engines, burning monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON)  Each pressure fed engine generates 7 4 kN (1,700 lbf) thrust and is gimbaled (±3°) to provide pitch, yaw and roll control during powered flight  Coast phase attitude control is provided by six 50N RCS thrusters  The stage is pressurized by Helium and carries up to 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of propellant in the PSLV and PSLV-XL and 2,100 kg (4,600 lb) in the PSLV-CA On PSLV-C29/TeLEOS-1 mission, the fourth stage demonstrated re-ignition capability for the first time which was used in many subsequent flights to deploy payloads in multiple orbits on a single campaign As a space debris mitigation measure, PSLV fourth stage gets passivated by venting pressurant and propellant vapour after achieving main mission objectives  Such passivation prevents any unintentional fragmentation or explosion due to stored internal energy 

PS4 stage as orbital platform
PS4 has carried hosted payloads like AAM on PSLV-C8, Rubin 9 1/Rubin 9 2 on PSLV-C14 and mRESINS on PSLV-C21  But now, PS4 is being augmented to serve as a long duration orbital platform after completion of primary mission  PS4 Orbital Platform (PS4-OP) will have its own power supply, telemetry package, data storage and attitude control for hosted payloads On PSLV-C37 and PSLV-C38 campaigns, as a demonstration PS4 was kept operational and monitored for over ten orbits after delivering spacecraft PSLV-C44 was the first campaign where PS4 functioned as independent orbital platform for short duration as there was no on-board power generation capacity  It carried KalamSAT-V2 as a fixed payload, a 1U cubesat by Space Kidz India based on Interorbital Systems kit On PSLV-C45 campaign, the fourth stage had its own power generation capability as it was augmented with an array of fixed solar cells around PS4 propellant tank  Three payloads hosted on PS4-OP were, Advanced Retarding Potential Analyzer for Ionospheric Studies (ARIS 101F) by IIST, experimental AIS payload by ISRO and AISAT by Satellize  To function as orbital platform, fourth stage was put in spin-stabilized mode using its RCS thrusters On PSLV-C53 campaign the PS4-OP was referred as PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) and it hosted six payloads  POEM was first PSLV fourth stage based orbital platform to be actively stabilised using Helium based cold gas thrusters after the primary mission and stage passivization 

Payload fairing
Payload fairing of PSLV, also referred as its "Heatshield" consists of a conical upper section with spherical nose-cap, a cylindrical middle section and a lower boat-tail section  Weighing 1,182 kilograms (2,606 lb), it has 3 2 meter diameter and 8 3 meter height  It has Isogrid construction and is made out of 7075 aluminum alloy with a 3 mm thick steel nose-cap  The two halves of fairing are separated using a pyrotechnic device based jettisoning system consisting horizontal and lateral separation mechanisms  To protect spacecraft from damage due to excessive acoustic loads during launch, the heatshield interior is lined with acoustic blankets 

Variants
ISRO has envisaged a number of variants of PSLV to cater to different mission requirements  There are currently two operational versions of the PSLV — the core-alone (PSLV-CA) without strap-on motors, and the (PSLV-XL) version, with six extended length (XL) strap-on motors carrying 12 tonnes of HTPB based propellant each  These configurations provide wide variations in payload capabilities up to 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) in LEO and 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) in sun-synchronous orbit 

PSLV-G
The standard or "Generic" version of the PSLV, PSLV-G had four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately and six strap-on motors (PSOM or S9) with 9 tonne propellant loading  It had capability to launch 1,678 kg (3,699 lb) to 622 km (386 mi) into sun-synchronous orbit  PSLV-C35 was the last operational launch of PSLV-G before its discontinuation 

PSLV-CA
The PSLV-CA, CA meaning "Core Alone", model premiered on 23 April 2007  The CA model does not include the six strap-on boosters used by the PSLV standard variant but two SITVC tanks with Roll Control Thruster modules are still attached to the side of the first stage with addition of two cylindrical aerodynamic stabilizers  The fourth stage of the CA variant has 400 kg (880 lb) less propellant when compared to its standard version  It currently has capability to launch 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) to 622 km (386 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit 

PSLV-XL
PSLV-XL is the upgraded version of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its standard configuration boosted by more powerful, stretched strap-on boosters with 12 tonne propellant load  Weighing 320 t (310 long tons; 350 short tons) at lift-off, the vehicle uses larger strap-on motors (PSOM-XL or S12) to achieve higher payload capability  On 29 December 2005, ISRO successfully tested the improved version of strap-on booster for the PSLV  The first use of PSLV-XL was the launch of Chandrayaan-1 by PSLV-C11  The payload capability for this variant is 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) to Sun-synchronous orbit 

PSLV-DL
PSLV-DL variant has only two strap-on boosters with 12 tonne propellant load on them  PSLV-C44 on 24 January 2019 was the first flight to use PSLV-DL variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle  It is capable of launching 1,257 kg (2,771 lb) to 600 km (370 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit 

PSLV-QL
PSLV-QL variant has four ground-lit strap-on boosters, each with 12 tonnes of propellant  PSLV-C45 on 1 April 2019 was the first flight of PSLV-QL  It has the capacity to launch 1,523 kg (3,358 lb) to 600 km (370 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit 

PSLV-3S (concept)
PSLV-3S was conceived as a three-staged version of PSLV with its six strap-on boosters and second liquid stage removed  The total lift-off mass of PSLV-3S was expected to be 175 tonnes with capacity to place 500 kg in 550 km low Earth orbit 

Launch Profile
PSLV - XL:

The PS1 ignites at T+0 providing 4846  kN of thrust 
Within T+1, 4 out of the 6 boosters ignite on ground, each producing 703 kN of thrust  7658 kN of total thrust is produced by the combined propulsion of the PSOMs and the PS1 
At around T+23/26, the remaining 2 unlit boosters are air-lit bringing the rocket at its maximum thrust capacity 
At T+1:10, the first 4 ground-lit PSOMs have depleted its propellant and now separates and falls down to the  ocean  The remaining 2 PSOMs and the PS1 continue to burn 
At T+1:35, the remaining 2 PSOMs complete its 70 seconds burn and separate, leaving the rocket in a Core- Alone configuration 
At T+1:50, the PS1 has completed its 110-second burn and it separates and the Vikas Engine inside the PS2 ignites 
The second stage burns for around 130 seconds and around T+4 minutes, the second stages shuts off and separates 
The third stage, which is a solid rocket booster, and burns 80 seconds and then coasts for the remainder of time and around T+8/10 minutes, it separates and the 4th stage ignites to give the rocket a final push into the orbit 
This 4th stage burn is highly variable and depends on the mass and number of payloads and usually is around 500 seconds long  The 4th stage may shut off around T+16/18 minutes followed by the Payload Deployment 

Launch statistics
As of May 22, 2023 the PSLV has made 57 launches, with 54 successfully reaching their planned orbits, two outright failures and one partial failure, yielding a success rate of 94% (or 95% including the partial failure)  All launches have occurred from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, known before 2002 as the Sriharikota Range (SHAR) 

Launch system status

Decade-wise summary of PSLV launches:

See also
GSLV Mark II
LVM 3
Comparison of orbital launchers families
Medium-lift launch vehicle, 2,000 to 20,000 kg to LEO
Comparison of orbital rocket engines
Comparison of orbital launch systems
Passage 2:
USA-214
USA-214, also known as Advanced Extremely High Frequency-1 or AEHF-1, is a military communications satellite operated by the United States Air Force  It is the first of six satellites to be launched as part of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency program, which will replace the earlier Milstar system 

Satellite description
The USA-214 satellite was constructed by Lockheed Martin Space, and is based on the A2100 satellite bus  The satellite has a mass of 6,168 kg (13,598 lb) and a design life of 14 years  It will be used to provide super high frequency (SHF) and extremely high frequency (EHF) communications for the United States Armed Forces, as well as those of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada 

Launch
Though initially scheduled for launch on 30 July 2010, delays with the launch vehicle pushed flight back to 10 August 2010, and finally to 14 August 2010 USA-214 was launched by United Launch Alliance, aboard an Atlas V 531 flying from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)  The launch occurred at 11:07:00 UTC on 14 August 2010, and resulted in the satellite being deployed successfully into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) with a perigee of 221 km (137 mi), an apogee of 50,179 km (31,180 mi), and 22 2° Orbital inclination 

Anomaly
The satellite was intended to maneuver from the transfer orbit into which it was launched to its operational geosynchronous orbit by means of a liquid apogee engine (LAE) and several 
Hall-effect thrusters, a process which normally takes 105 days  However, the satellite's Liquid Apogee Engine malfunctioned shortly after ignition on both its first burn on 15 August 2010 and a second attempt on 17 August 2010, and it was declared inoperable To solve the problem, the perigee altitude was raised to 4,700 km (2,900 mi) using twelve firings of the smaller Reaction Engine Assembly thrusters, originally intended for attitude control during LAE maneuvers  From this altitude, the solar arrays were deployed and the orbit was raised toward the operational orbit over the course of nine months using the 0 27 Newton Hall effect thruster, a form of electric propulsion which is highly efficient, but produces very low thrust and is therefore very slow 
The problem with the liquid apogee engine was later blamed on a piece of cloth accidentally left in a fuel line leading up to the engine while the line was taken apart for repair during the manufacture of the satellite  The cloth was likely placed in the line to prevent impurities from entering the fuel line and did not get removed when the line was put back together 

See also
2010 in spaceflight
Passage 3:
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth  Communications satellites are used for television, telephone, radio, internet, and military applications   Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles (35,900 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite  Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit, where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently 
The high frequency radio waves used for telecommunications links travel by line of sight and so are obstructed by the curve of the Earth   The purpose of communications satellites is to relay the signal around the curve of the Earth allowing communication between widely separated geographical points   Communications satellites use a wide range of radio and microwave frequencies  To avoid signal interference, international organizations have regulations for which frequency ranges or "bands" certain organizations are allowed to use  This allocation of bands minimizes the risk of signal interference 

History
Origins
In October 1945, Arthur C  Clarke published an article titled "Extraterrestrial Relays" in the British magazine Wireless World  The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment of artificial satellites in geostationary orbits to relay radio signals  Because of this, Arthur C  Clarke is often quoted as being the inventor of the concept of the communications satellite, and the term 'Clarke Belt' is employed as a description of the orbit 

The first artificial Earth satellite was Sputnik 1 which was put into orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957  It was developed by Mikhail Tikhonravov and Sergey Korolev, building on work by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky  Sputnik 1 was equipped with an on-board radio transmitter that worked on two frequencies of 20 005 and 40 002 MHz, or 7 and 15 meters wavelength  The satellite was not placed in orbit to send data from one point on Earth to another; the radio transmitter was meant to study the properties of radio wave distribution throughout the ionosphere   The launch of Sputnik 1 was a major step in the exploration of space and rocket development, and marks the beginning of the Space Age 

Early active and passive satellite experiments
There are two major classes of communications satellites, passive and active  Passive satellites only reflect the signal coming from the source, toward the direction of the receiver  With passive satellites, the reflected signal is not amplified at the satellite, and only a very small amount of the transmitted energy actually reaches the receiver   Since the satellite is so far above Earth, the radio signal is attenuated due to free-space path loss, so the signal received on Earth is very, very weak  Active satellites, on the other hand, amplify the received signal before retransmitting it to the receiver on the ground  Passive satellites were the first communications satellites, but are little used now 
Work that was begun in the field of electrical intelligence gathering at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in 1951 led to a project named Communication Moon Relay  Military planners had long shown considerable interest in secure and reliable communications lines as a tactical necessity, and the ultimate goal of this project was the creation of the longest communications circuit in human history, with the moon, Earth's natural satellite, acting as a passive relay  After achieving the first transoceanic communication between Washington, D C , and Hawaii on 23 January 1956, this system was publicly inaugurated and put into formal production in January 1960 

The first satellite purpose-built to actively relay communications was Project SCORE,  led by Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and launched on 18 December 1958, which used a tape recorder to carry a stored voice message, as well as to receive, store, and retransmit messages  It was used to send a Christmas greeting to the world from U S  President Dwight D  Eisenhower  The satellite also executed several realtime transmissions before the non-rechargeable batteries failed on 30 December 1958 after eight hours of actual operation The direct successor to SCORE was another ARPA-led project called Courier  Courier 1B was launched on 4 October 1960 to explore whether it would be possible to establish a global military communications network by using "delayed repeater" satellites, which receive and store information until commanded to rebroadcast them  After 17 days, a command system failure ended communications from the satellite NASA's satellite applications program launched the first artificial satellite used for passive relay communications in Echo 1 on 12 August 1960  Echo 1 was an aluminized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals  Communication signals were bounced off the satellite from one point on Earth to another  This experiment sought to establish the feasibility of worldwide broadcasts of telephone, radio, and television signals 

More firsts and further experiments
Telstar was the first active, direct relay communications commercial satellite and marked the first transatlantic transmission of television signals  Belonging to AT&T as part of a multi-national agreement between AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the British General Post Office, and the French National PTT (Post Office) to develop satellite communications, it was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on 10 July 1962, in the first privately sponsored space launch Another passive relay experiment primarily intended for military communications purposes was Project West Ford, which was led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory  After an initial failure in 1961, a launch on 9 May 1963 dispersed 350 million copper needle dipoles to create a passive reflecting belt  Even though only about half of the dipoles properly separated from each other, the project was able to successfully experiment and communicate using frequencies in the SHF X band spectrum An immediate antecedent of the geostationary satellites was the Hughes Aircraft Company's Syncom 2, launched on 26 July 1963  Syncom 2 was the first communications satellite in a geosynchronous orbit  It revolved around the earth once per day at constant speed, but because it still had north–south motion, special equipment was needed to track it  Its successor, Syncom 3, launched on 19 July 1964, was the first geostationary communications satellite  Syncom 3 obtained a geosynchronous orbit, without a north–south motion, making it appear from the ground as a stationary object in the sky A direct extension of the passive experiments of Project West Ford was the Lincoln Experimental Satellite program, also conducted by the Lincoln Laboratory on behalf of the United States Department of Defense  The LES-1 active communications satellite was launched on 11 February 1965 to explore the feasibility of active solid-state X band long-range military communications  A total of nine satellites were launched between 1965 and 1976 as part of this series 

International commercial satellite projects
In the United States, 1962 saw the creation of the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) private corporation, which was subject to instruction by the US Government on matters of national policy  Over the next two years, international negotiations led to the Intelsat Agreements, which in turn led to the launch of Intelsat 1, also known as Early Bird, on 6 April 1965, and which was the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit  Subsequent Intelsat launches in the 1960s provided multi-destination service and video, audio, and data service to ships at sea (Intelsat 2 in 1966–67), and the completion of a fully global network with Intelsat 3 in 1969–70  By the 1980s, with significant expansions in commercial satellite capacity, Intelsat was on its way to become part of the competitive private telecommunications industry, and had started to get competition from the likes of PanAmSat in the United States, which, ironically, was then bought by its archrival in 2005 When Intelsat was launched, the United States was the only launch source outside of the Soviet Union, who did not participate in the Intelsat agreements  The Soviet Union launched its first communications satellite on 23 April 1965 as part of the Molniya program  This program was also unique at the time for its use of what then became known as the Molniya orbit, which describes a highly elliptical orbit, with two high apogees daily over the northern hemisphere  This orbit provides a long dwell time over Russian territory as well as over Canada at higher latitudes than geostationary orbits over the equator 

Satellite orbits
Communications satellites usually have one of three primary types of orbit, while other orbital classifications are used to further specify orbital details  MEO and LEO are non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) 

Geostationary satellites have a geostationary orbit (GEO), which is 22,236 miles (35,785 km) from Earth's surface  This orbit has the special characteristic that the apparent position of the satellite in the sky when viewed by a ground observer does not change, the satellite appears to "stand still" in the sky   This is because the satellite's orbital period is the same as the rotation rate of the Earth   The advantage of this orbit is that ground antennas do not have to track the satellite across the sky, they can be fixed to point at the location in the sky the satellite appears 
Medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites are closer to Earth  Orbital altitudes range from 2,000 to 36,000 kilometres (1,200 to 22,400 mi) above Earth 
The region below medium orbits is referred to as low Earth orbit (LEO), and is about 160 to 2,000 kilometres (99 to 1,243 mi) above Earth As satellites in MEO and LEO orbit the Earth faster, they do not remain visible in the sky to a fixed point on Earth continually like a geostationary satellite, but appear to a ground observer to cross the sky and "set" when they go behind the Earth beyond the visible horizon  Therefore, to provide continuous communications capability with these lower orbits requires a larger number of satellites, so that one of these satellites will always be visible in the sky for transmission of communication signals   However, due to their closer distance to the Earth, LEO or MEO satellites can communicate to ground with reduced latency and at lower power than would be required from a geosynchronous orbit 

Low Earth orbit (LEO)
A low Earth orbit (LEO) typically is a circular orbit about 160 to 2,000 kilometres (99 to 1,243 mi) above the earth's surface and, correspondingly, a period (time to revolve around the earth) of about 90 minutes Because of their low altitude, these satellites are only visible from within a radius of roughly 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the sub-satellite point  In addition, satellites in low earth orbit change their position relative to the ground position quickly  So even for local applications, many satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity 
Low-Earth-orbiting satellites are less expensive to launch into orbit than geostationary satellites and, due to proximity to the ground, do not require as high signal strength (signal strength falls off as the square of the distance from the source, so the effect is considerable)  Thus there is a trade off between the number of satellites and their cost 
In addition, there are important differences in the onboard and ground equipment needed to support the two types of missions 

Satellite constellation
A group of satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation  Two such constellations, intended to provide satellite phone and low-speed data services, primarily to remote areas, are the Iridium and Globalstar systems  The Iridium system has 66 satellites, which orbital inclination of 86 4° and inter-satellite links provide service availability over the entire surface of Earth  Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, that aims for global satellite Internet access coverage 
It is also possible to offer discontinuous coverage using a low-Earth-orbit satellite capable of storing data received while passing over one part of Earth and transmitting it later while passing over another part   This will be the case with the CASCADE system of Canada's CASSIOPE communications satellite  Another system using this store and forward method is Orbcomm 

Medium Earth orbit (MEO)
A medium Earth orbit is a satellite in orbit somewhere between 2,000 and 35,786 kilometres (1,243 and 22,236 mi) above the earth's surface   MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in functionality  MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO satellites, usually between 2 and 8 hours  MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites  A MEO satellite's longer duration of visibility and wider footprint means fewer satellites are needed in a MEO network than a LEO network  One disadvantage is that a MEO satellite's distance gives it a longer time delay and weaker signal than a LEO satellite, although these limitations are not as severe as those of a GEO satellite 
Like LEOs, these satellites do not maintain a stationary distance from the earth   This is in contrast to the geostationary orbit, where satellites are always 35,786 kilometres (22,236 mi) from the earth 
Typically the orbit of a medium earth orbit satellite is about 16,000 kilometres (10,000 mi) above earth  In various patterns, these satellites make the trip around earth in anywhere from 2 to 8 hours 

Examples of MEO
In 1962, the communications satellite, Telstar, was launched  It was a medium earth orbit satellite designed to help facilitate high-speed telephone signals  Although it was the first practical way to transmit signals over the horizon, its major drawback was soon realised  Because its orbital period of about 2 5 hours did not match the Earth's rotational period of 24 hours, continuous coverage was impossible  It was apparent that multiple MEOs needed to be used in order to provide continuous coverage 
In 2013, the first four of a constellation of 20 MEO satellites was launched  The O3b satellites provide broadband internet services, in particular to remote locations and maritime and in-flight use, and orbit at an altitude of 8,063 kilometres (5,010 mi)) 

Geostationary orbit (GEO)
To an observer on Earth, a satellite in a geostationary orbit appears motionless, in a fixed position in the sky   This is because it revolves around the Earth at Earth's own angular velocity (one revolution per sidereal day, in an equatorial orbit) 
A geostationary orbit is useful for communications because ground antennas can be aimed at the satellite without their having to track the satellite's motion  This is relatively inexpensive 
In applications that require many ground antennas, such as DirecTV distribution, the savings in ground equipment can more than outweigh the cost and complexity of placing a satellite into orbit 

Examples of GEO
The first geostationary satellite was Syncom 3, launched on 19 August 1964, and used for communication across the Pacific starting with television coverage of the 1964 Summer Olympics  Shortly after Syncom 3, Intelsat I, aka Early Bird, was launched on 6 April 1965 and placed in orbit at 28° west longitude  It was the first geostationary satellite for telecommunications over the Atlantic Ocean 
On 9 November 1972, Canada's first geostationary satellite serving the continent, Anik A1, was launched by Telesat Canada, with the United States following suit with the launch of Westar 1 by Western Union on 13 April 1974 
On 30 May 1974, the first geostationary communications satellite in the world to be three-axis stabilized was launched: the experimental satellite ATS-6 built for NASA 
After the launches of the Telstar through Westar 1 satellites, RCA Americom (later GE Americom, now SES) launched Satcom 1 in 1975   It was Satcom 1 that was instrumental in helping early cable TV channels such as WTBS (now TBS), HBO, CBN (now Freeform) and The Weather Channel become successful, because these channels distributed their programming to all of the local cable TV headends using the satellite   Additionally, it was the first satellite used by broadcast television networks in the United States, like ABC, NBC, and CBS, to distribute programming to their local affiliate stations   Satcom 1 was widely used because it had twice the communications capacity of the competing Westar 1 in America (24 transponders as opposed to the 12 of Westar 1), resulting in lower transponder-usage costs  Satellites in later decades tended to have even higher transponder numbers By 2000, Hughes Space and Communications (now Boeing Satellite Development Center) had built nearly 40 percent of the more than one hundred satellites in service worldwide  Other major satellite manufacturers include Space Systems/Loral, Orbital Sciences Corporation with the Star Bus series, Indian Space Research Organisation, Lockheed Martin (owns the former RCA Astro Electronics/GE Astro Space business), Northrop Grumman, Alcatel Space, now Thales Alenia Space, with the Spacebus series, and Astrium 

Molniya orbit
Geostationary satellites must operate above the equator and therefore appear lower on the horizon as the receiver gets farther from the equator  This will cause problems for extreme northerly latitudes, affecting connectivity and causing multipath interference (caused by signals reflecting off the ground and into the ground antenna) 
Thus, for areas close to the North (and South) Pole, a geostationary satellite may appear below the horizon  Therefore, Molniya orbit satellites have been launched, mainly in Russia, to alleviate this problem
Context 3: Passage 1:
CJRL-FM
CJRL-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 89 5 FM in Kenora, Ontario  The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format branded as 89 5 The Lake 
The station was originally launched in 1938 as CKCA 1420 kHz  In 1941, CKCA moved to 1450  In 1943, Kenora Broadcasting Co  Ltd  took ownership of CKCA and changed the frequency to 1220 with a new callsign CJRL 
CJRL went through different ownerships over the years 
In 2004, CJRL was given approval by the CRTC to convert to 89 5 FM and began broadcasting in November 2004 as 89 5 Mix FM  Following the flip to FM, the station shifted format to adult contemporary from hot adult contemporary 
Formerly owned and operated by Fawcett Broadcasting, the station was acquired in 2007 by Acadia Broadcasting Limited of Saint John, New Brunswick 
As of June 30, 2011, CJRL was rebranded 89 5 The Lake, continuing as an adult contemporary station, the station's playlist now primarily includes pop and rock hits from the 1970s to today  Following the unexpected passing of Charlie Tuna in early 2016, the 70's Show that aired on weekends was replaced with the Totally Awesome 80's show with Kent Jones 
Passage 2:
KLAG
The following is a list of full-power radio stations, HD Radio subchannels and low-power translators in the United States broadcasting K-Love programming, which can be sorted by their call signs, frequencies, city of license, state and broadcast area 

Blue background indicates a low-power FM translator 
Gray background indicates an HD Radio subchannel 

External links
Master Station List
Passage 3:
WAJI
WAJI (95 1 FM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format  Licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, the station is owned by Bloomington–based Sarkes Tarzian, Inc WAJI broadcasts in HD, with its HD2 channel simulcasting sister station WGBJ, and its HD3 channel broadcasting a "Top 20" CHR format 

History
WAJI was known as WPTH throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a sister station to WPTA television, and in the summer of 1974 branded themselves as "Rock 95", using TM Productions' "Stereo Rock" Top 40 reel to reel automation package  The station went live in 1979, and changed calls in 1981 to WFWQ (95Q), continuing to do battle with 97 3 WMEE for the Top 40 audience in Fort Wayne  The station mellowed to Adult Contemporary, eventually changing to its current WAJI calls and imaging in 1985  "Majic 95" soon once again became one of Fort Wayne's top-rated stations, reaching #1 in the market several times during the late 1980s 
On March 20, 2014, the first day of spring WAJI changed names to BEST FM 95 1 WAJI reflecting the music they play today 
The station lineup consisted of "The BEST-FM Morning Show" with Sid Kelly, Angie Nash and James Raggi   Mandi Michaels, Program Director Dan Kennedy and Dave B  Goode (who also serves as the station's Promotions Director) 
Angie Nash spent the previous ten years of her career at cross-town WJFX Hot 107 9 before joining the morning show   Afternoons were handled by Dan Kennedy who also serves as the stations Director of Programming   Kennedy was VP/Programming for five station Grenax Broadcasting in Arizona prior to his arrival in Fort Wayne in 2012  Dave B  Goode hosts weeknights after spending several years at stations such as crosstown WBTU and WNHT  Dave also serves as the station's Promotions Director 
After changing formats, BEST-FM has brought in several new staff members  On June 23, 2014 it was announced that James Raggi would join Angie Nash for mornings after spending three years as an intern/producer in Boston on Kiss 108 
In September 2014 Mandi Michaels joined the staff as the new mid-day personality 
On October 24, 2014 Best FM announced the hiring of Sid Kelly  Sid was brought in to be the new host of the morning show, joining Angie and James  Sid Kelly came to WAJI after spending 3 and-a-half years at WVKS 92 5 Kiss FM in Toledo 
In July 2015 Program Director/afternoon personality Dan Kennedy announced he was leaving the station after 4 years to take a job outside of radio 
In September 2015 Captain Chris (Didier) Program Director of sister station WLDE, Fun 101 7 was named Program Director for WAJI and Operations Manager for the all 3 Fort Wayne, IN, Sarkes Tarzian radio stations 
On September 4, 2015, 95 1 rebranded back to "Majic 95 1"  The new Majic is being positioned as “Songs You Can Sing Along To” and comes with the exit of several staffers over the previous few weeks, with the first song being "You and Me" by Lifehouse  Program Director Dan Kennedy left in July for a non-radio industry position  Morning host Sid Kelly, producer James Raggi, and middayer Mandi Michaels were let go earlier that week leading up to the change  Later on, they changed their slogan to "Songs that make you feel good" 
The current WAJI line-up consists of Angie Nash, Andy Beckman, and Katrina Walburn live in mornings  According to WAJI, Katrina Walburn helps you through the Afternoons, and Andy and "Kat" in the morning do a live podcast from 5:30 AM to 10 AM EDT and EST 
On September 8, 2022, WAJI moved its CHR format and "The Twenty FM" branding from its HD2 subchannel to its HD3 subchannel 

Awards and charitable activities
In 2002, Majic 95 1 began an annual 2-day telethon called the "Majic Riley Radiothon" to raise funds for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana  In 2006,  this fundraising effort expanded to include local Fort Wayne recording facility Sweetwater Studios  The radio station and recording studio partnered to record live, acoustic music from nationally recognized artists and bands traveling through Fort Wayne  These recordings, along with others, have been used to produce an ongoing series of "Majic Miracle Music" charity CDs  100% of proceeds from the sale of these CDs benefits Riley Hospital for Children  Artists who recorded at Sweetwater Studios for "Majic Miracle Music" CDs include REO Speedwagon, Ingrid Michaelson, Lenka, Aimee Allen, Jars of Clay, Rick Springfield, Ben Jelen, Josh Kelley, Sara Bareilles, Jon McLaughlin, Gin Blossoms, and Collective Soul In 2005, 2006 and again in 2007, WAJI won Radio&Records Hot AC station of the year for their community support and programming excellence 
In late 2010, WAJI MidDay Host Barb Richards received the Bob Lind Supporter of the Year national award from the Children's Miracle Network for her active involvement in helping Riley Hospital for Children with the Majic Riley Radiothon, Majic Miracle Music releases, and involvement in other Riley Hospital-related activities In 2011, WAJI Program Director Dan Kennedy received the distinguished Edison 30 Under 30 Award for his programming achievements under the age of 30   He was also awarded the Copper Radio Award for his service to the communities of Arizona while programming a group of stations in that state  In 2015, WAJI Program Director Dan Kennedy was awarded the Fort Wayne 40 Under 40 award for service and excellence to the community 

Previous logo
Passage 4:
WEBZ
WEBZ (99 3 FM) is a commercial urban adult contemporary radio station located in Mexico Beach, Florida (Panama City metro)  The station is owned by iHeartMedia 

External links
Official Website

WEBZ in the FCC FM station database
WEBZ on Radio-Locator
WEBZ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
Passage 5:
Light Sings
"Light Sings" is a song written by Will Holt and Gary William Friedman and performed by The 5th Dimension   It reached #12 on the U S  adult contemporary chart, #15 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart, #22 on the Canadian pop chart, and #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971   It was featured on their 1971 album, Love's Lines, Angles and Rhymes The song was produced by Bones Howe and arranged by Bob Alcivar 

In media
The song was featured in the 1970 musical, The Me Nobody Knows 
Passage 6:
All That Echoes
All That Echoes is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, produced by Rob Cavallo  The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 145,000 copies in its first week  The album has sold 532,000 copies in the United States as of April 2015 

Background
On November 18, 2012, the album was announced, revealing the cover art, title, and date of release: February 5, 2013  It was available for preorder through retailer Amazon com on November 27  Groban has recorded cover songs by Stevie Wonder and Glen Hansard for the album  The first track, "Brave", was released as a single on December 18, 2012  Groban promoted the album with the All That Echoes World Tour 

Track listing
Personnel
Josh Groban – vocals, piano, e-bow, additional drums
Curt Bisquera – drums
Chris Chaney – bass guitar
Tim Pierce – guitar
Ramon Stagnaro – acoustic guitar, charango
Carlos del Puerto – bass guitar
Arturo Sandoval – trumpet
Walter Afanasieff – piano
Paul Bushnell – bass guitar
Luis Conte – percussion
Matt Chamberlain – drums
Eleanore Choate – harp
Sean Hurley – bass guitar
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards, piano
Abe Laboriel Jr  – drums, percussion
Rob Cavallo – acoustic guitar, piano, additional bass guitar
Dan Chase – drum programming, synthesizer
André Manga – bass guitar
Eric Rigler – bagpipes, low whistle
Lester Mendez – synthesizer, programming

Charts
Certifications
Passage 7:
WOKH
WOKH (102 7 FM) is an adult contemporary–formatted radio station licensed to serve Springfield, Kentucky, as well as Lebanon and Bardstown  The station is owned by Bardstown Radio Team, LLC as part of a duopoly with Bardstown–licensed country music station WBRT (1320 AM)  The two stations share studios on South Third Street in downtown Bardstown, while its transmitter facilities are located off Lanham Road in rural Washington County west of Springfield 

History
Choice Radio sold WOKH to current ownership Bardstown Radio Team, owner of WBRT, in 2017 The station has been assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since January 12, 2006 

Previous logos
Passage 8:
WNWZ
WNWZ (1410 AM, "Magic 104 9") is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format, licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan 
The station is simulcast on FM translator W285FO (104 9), licensed to Grand Rapids 

History
WGRD
The station first began broadcasting under the WGRD call sign in 1948  As AM 1410 was originally a daytime-only station, the WGRD calls stood for Grand Rapids Daytime  The station adopted the Top 40 music format in 1959 and was a top-rated station in the Grand Rapids market during the late 1950s and early 1960s, though the station had lost ground to WLAV 1340 and WZZM-FM 95 7 by the end of the decade  WGRD made a number of format adjustments in the mid-1960s in response to its falling ratings, shifting to an adult contemporary format in 1964 and then to a Top 40/oldies mix the following year before tweaking back to Top 40 in 1967  WGRD reclaimed its market dominance after it added an FM signal at 97 9 MHz in 1971 (formerly WXTO), though AM 1410 was relegated to being a simulcast of the FM signal mornings and afternoons  For part of that time middays were "shadowcast " Same format, different dj 

WXQT/Great Gold 14-K
In 1981, WGRD dropped its simulcast (middays were shadowcast) of the FM station and switched to a "Big Band" Music of Your Life format as WXQT  In 1984, WXQT flipped to oldies as "GREAT GOLD 14-K",  which stood for "14 Karat Gold", focusing on pop oldies from 1958-1972  Under the direction of PD Allen Jackson, "The NEW 14-K" featured Jack Stack (who had done mornings on WGRD and WLAV back in the 1960s) mornings, Rich Kennedy middays, Larry Olek afternoons and Pugs Stella evenings  The station earned a respectable 2 4 share 12+ in the Summer 1984 Arbitron  In 1986, the local lineup was dropped in favor of the ABC/Satellite Music Network "Pure Gold" satellite format  Ratings crashed to a 0 9 share in the summer of 1986 Arbitron, under the new call sign WKTH 

More changes
In 1988, the station adopted Satellite Music Network's Z-Rock format, keeping the WKTH call letters  The station reverted to the WGRD calls in 1991, moving back to a simulcast of 97 9 FM's CHR format (which changed to Modern Rock in 1994)  In 1996, WGRD changed calls to WRCV and switched to ABC Radio's syndicated "Real Country" format  The station continued to be a non-factor in the ratings  In September 1998, 1410 changed its calls to WNWZ and adopted a simulcast of CNN Headline News, which was replaced by News/Talk in October 2001 (mostly syndicated from the Michigan Talk Radio Network) 

La Maquina Musical
A Spanish pop hits format was adopted on January 1, 2003, and was somewhat successful in the ratings given its poor signal, often ranking as Grand Rapids' third most popular AM station (behind only WOOD and WBBL) (see: 1)  WNWZ was the first radio station to cater to the Spanish-speaking community in Grand Rapids 24 hours a day  In August 2010, a reunion of more than 60 former WGRD staff members was held in Grand Rapids, which included market legend Bruce Grant, the original program director from 1948, and dozens of other personalities from the AM 1410/97 9 history 

Funny 1410
On November 14, 2011, the station changed its format to comedy calling itself "Funny 1410" 

Touch 1410
On August 3, 2013, WNWZ flipped to Urban Adult Contemporary, branded as "The Touch"  The station became the West Michigan home of the Steve Harvey Morning Show and remains as such today  Outside of the morning show, the station aired Westwood One's "The Touch" full-time 

Magic 94 1
On June 10, 2016, WNWZ began simulcasting on FM translator W231DD (94 1, licensed to Grand Rapids), and rebranded as "Magic 94 1 " The station also dropped the "Touch" feed for locally originated programming 

Magic 104 9
On October 24, 2016, WNWZ rebranded as "Magic 104 9" as translator W231DD moved from 94 1 FM to 104 9 FM as W285FO and raised power from 88 watts to 250 watts In March 2020, WNWZ began adding more hip hop tracks, and shifted to urban contemporary, while retaining the "Magic" moniker 

Previous logo
(WNWZ's logo under previous 94 1 translator frequency)
 (WNWZ's logo under previous Urban Adult Contemporary format)
Passage 9:
I Can Only Imagine (MercyMe song)
"I Can Only Imagine" is a song by Christian rock band MercyMe  Written and composed by lead singer Bart Millard, it was originally recorded for the band's 1999 independent album The Worship Project before being included on their 2001 major-label debut album Almost There  The song was the last to be written for The Worship Project; in writing it, Millard drew upon his thoughts about his father's death  Lyrically, it imagines what it would be like to be in front of God in heaven; it opens with just a piano before building to include guitar and drums 
After being released on October 12, 2001, as the second single from Almost There, "I Can Only Imagine" became a major success on Christian radio; it spent two weeks at No  1 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart and became the most-played Christian single of 2002  It became an unexpected mainstream hit in 2003, peaking at No  71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No  5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart while also hitting top 40, adult top 40, and country radio charts  The song returned to the charts after its story was adapted into a 2018 film of the same name, peaking at No  1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and No  10 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart 
"I Can Only Imagine" received positive reviews from critics  Particular praise was given to its lyrics, and some critics called it the best song on Almost There  It received the Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the 33rd GMA Dove Awards, also garnering Millard the award for Songwriter of the Year; he also won the Songwriter of the Year award at the 25th American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Christian Music Awards  In 2004, CCM Magazine ranked it as the fourth-best song in Christian music, and it has since become the most-played song in the history of Christian radio as well as the best-selling Christian song of all time; it has been certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and as of April 2018, it has sold over 2 5 million copies 

Background and recording
MercyMe was formed in 1994 by vocalist Bart Millard, guitarist Mike Scheuchzer, and keyboardist Jim Bryson  The band later brought on drummer Robby Shaffer and bassist Nathan Cochran  In their early years, they independently released four Christian alternative rock albums, drawing influence from the grunge style of rock music popular at the time  However, they realized that their original songs from these albums failed to connect with their audiences while their covers of popular worship songs were much more popular  Because of this, the band decided to write and produce an album of original worship songs  This album,  The Worship Project, utilized a simple verse–chorus format designed to easily fit on a PowerPoint screen In the last phases of production, MercyMe needed one more song to include on the album  Late at night on the band's bus, Millard found an old notebook with the phrase "I can only imagine" written in it  He began to write a song, basing it on his personal feelings about his father Arthur's death  Early in Bart's life, Arthur had been physically and emotionally abusive towards his family, with Bart being beaten severely at points; Arthur and his wife Adele eventually divorced, and Bart was sent to live with his mother after an especially extreme whipping  Bart kept in contact with his father, however, who  was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when Bart was 15  His father began to make amends for his actions and started becoming more religiously observant, reading the Bible and going to church regularly  As Arthur progressively became more ill, his relationship with his son improved dramatically; by the time Arthur died in 1991, when Bart was 18, the two were very close  Millard said that "I got a front row seat to see this guy go from being a monster to falling desperately in love with Jesus  By the time he passed away when I was a freshman in college, not only was he my best friend, he was like the Godliest man I’d ever known"



ground_truth: Amy Poehler

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What is the experimental satellite which was the forerunner to the communication satellite of the operator of GSAT-7 called?

The following are given passages.
Context 2: 
Molniya orbits can be an appealing alternative in such cases  The Molniya orbit is highly inclined, guaranteeing good elevation over selected positions during the northern portion of the orbit  (Elevation is the extent of the satellite's position above the horizon  Thus, a satellite at the horizon has zero elevation and a satellite directly overhead has elevation of 90 degrees )
The Molniya orbit is designed so that the satellite spends the great majority of its time over the far northern latitudes, during which its ground footprint moves only slightly  Its period is one half day, so that the satellite is available for operation over the targeted region for six to nine hours every second revolution  In this way a constellation of three Molniya satellites (plus in-orbit spares) can provide uninterrupted coverage 
The first satellite of the Molniya series was launched on 23 April 1965 and was used for experimental transmission of TV signals from a Moscow uplink station to downlink stations located in Siberia and the Russian Far East, in Norilsk, Khabarovsk, Magadan and Vladivostok  In November 1967 Soviet engineers created a unique system of national TV network of satellite television, called Orbita, that was based on Molniya satellites 

Polar orbit
In the United States, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) was established in 1994 to consolidate the polar satellite operations of
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)  NPOESS manages a number of satellites for various purposes; for example, METSAT for meteorological satellite, EUMETSAT for the European branch of the program, and METOP for meteorological operations 
These orbits are sun synchronous, meaning that they cross the equator at the same local time each day  For example, the satellites in the NPOESS (civilian) orbit will cross the equator, going from south to north, at times 1:30 P M , 5:30 P M , and 9:30 P M 

Beyond geostationary orbit
There are plans and initiatives to bring dedicated communications satellite beyond geostationary orbits 
NASA proposed LunaNet as a data network aiming to provide a „Lunar Internet for cis-lunar spacecraft and Installations 
The Moonlight Initiative is an equivalent ESA project that is stated to be compatible and providing navigational services for the lunar surface  Both programmes are satellite constellstions of several satellites in various orbits around the Moon 
Other orbits are also planned to be used  Positions in the Earth-Moon-Libration points are also proposed for communication satellites covering the Moon alike communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit cover the Earth  Also, dedicated communication satellites in orbits around Mars supporting different missions on surface and other orbits are considered, such as the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter 

Structure
Communications Satellites are usually composed of the following subsystems:

Communication Payload, normally composed of transponders, antennas, and switching systems
Engines used to bring the satellite to its desired orbit
A station keeping tracking and stabilization subsystem used to keep the satellite in the right orbit, with its antennas pointed in the right direction, and its power system pointed towards the sun
Power subsystem, used to power the Satellite systems, normally composed of solar cells, and batteries that maintain power during solar eclipse
Command and Control subsystem, which maintains communications with ground control stations  The ground control Earth stations monitor the satellite performance and control its functionality during various phases of its life-cycle The bandwidth available from a satellite depends upon the number of transponders provided by the satellite  Each service (TV, Voice, Internet, radio) requires a different amount of bandwidth for transmission  This is typically known as link budgeting and a network simulator can be used to arrive at the exact value 

Frequency allocation for satellite systems
Allocating frequencies to satellite services is a complicated process which requires international coordination and planning  This is carried out under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 
To facilitate frequency planning, the world is divided into three regions:

Region 1: Europe, Africa, the Middle East, what was formerly the Soviet Union, and Mongolia
Region 2: North and South America and Greenland
Region 3: Asia (excluding region 1 areas), Australia, and the southwest PacificWithin these regions, frequency bands are allocated to various satellite services, although a given service may be allocated different frequency bands in different regions  Some of the services provided by satellites are:

Fixed satellite service (FSS)
Broadcasting satellite service (BSS)
Mobile-satellite service
Radionavigation-satellite service
Meteorological-satellite service

Applications
Telephony
The first and historically most important application for communication satellites was in intercontinental long distance telephony  The fixed Public Switched Telephone Network relays telephone calls from land line telephones to an earth station, where they are then transmitted to a geostationary satellite   The downlink follows an analogous path   Improvements in submarine communications cables through the use of fiber-optics caused some decline in the use of satellites for fixed telephony in the late 20th century 
Satellite communications are still used in many applications today  Remote islands such as Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Diego Garcia, and Easter Island, where no submarine cables are in service, need satellite telephones  There are also regions of some continents and countries where landline telecommunications are rare to non existent, for example large regions of South America, Africa, Canada, China, Russia, and Australia  Satellite communications also provide connection to the edges of Antarctica and Greenland  Other land use for satellite phones are rigs at sea, a backup for hospitals, military, and recreation  Ships at sea, as well as planes, often use satellite phones Satellite phone systems can be accomplished by a number of means  On a large scale, often there will be a local telephone system in an isolated area with a link to the telephone system in a main land area  There are also services that will patch a radio signal to a telephone system  In this example, almost any type of satellite can be used  Satellite phones connect directly to a constellation of either geostationary or low-Earth-orbit satellites  Calls are then forwarded to a satellite teleport connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network  

Television
As television became the main market, its demand for simultaneous delivery of relatively few signals of large bandwidth to many receivers being a more precise match for the capabilities of geosynchronous comsats   Two satellite types are used for North American television and radio: Direct broadcast satellite (DBS), and Fixed Service Satellite (FSS) 
The definitions of FSS and DBS satellites outside of North America, especially in Europe, are a bit more ambiguous  Most satellites used for direct-to-home television in Europe have the same high power output as DBS-class satellites in North America, but use the same linear polarization as FSS-class satellites  Examples of these are the Astra, Eutelsat, and Hotbird spacecraft in orbit over the European continent  Because of this, the terms FSS and DBS are more so used throughout the North American continent, and are uncommon in Europe 
Fixed Service Satellites use the C band, and the lower portions of the Ku band  They are normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and local affiliate stations (such as program feeds for network and syndicated programming, live shots, and backhauls), as well as being used for distance learning by schools and universities, business television (BTV), Videoconferencing, and general commercial telecommunications  FSS satellites are also used to distribute national cable channels to cable television headends 
Free-to-air satellite TV channels are also usually distributed on FSS satellites in the Ku band  The Intelsat Americas 5, Galaxy 10R and AMC 3 satellites over North America provide a quite large amount of FTA channels on their Ku band transponders 
The American Dish Network DBS service has also recently used FSS technology as well for their programming packages requiring their SuperDish antenna, due to Dish Network needing more capacity to carry local television stations per the FCC's "must-carry" regulations, and for more bandwidth to carry HDTV channels 
A direct broadcast satellite is a communications satellite that transmits to small DBS satellite dishes (usually 18 to 24 inches or 45 to 60 cm in diameter)  Direct broadcast satellites generally operate in the upper portion of the microwave Ku band  DBS technology is used for DTH-oriented (Direct-To-Home) satellite TV services, such as DirecTV, DISH Network and Orby TV in the United States, Bell Satellite TV and Shaw Direct in Canada, Freesat and Sky in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand and DSTV in South Africa 
Operating at lower frequency and lower power than DBS, FSS satellites require a much larger dish for reception (3 to 8 feet (1 to 2 5 m) in diameter for Ku band, and 12 feet (3 6 m) or larger for C band)   They use linear polarization for each of the transponders' RF input and output (as opposed to circular polarization used by DBS satellites), but this is a minor technical difference that users do not notice  FSS satellite technology was also originally used for DTH satellite TV from the late 1970s to the early 1990s in the United States in the form of TVRO (Television Receive Only) receivers and dishes  It was also used in its Ku band form for the now-defunct Primestar satellite TV service 
Some satellites have been launched that have transponders in the Ka band, such as DirecTV's SPACEWAY-1 satellite, and Anik F2  NASA and ISRO have also launched experimental satellites carrying Ka band beacons recently Some manufacturers have also introduced special antennas for mobile reception of DBS television  Using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as a reference, these antennas automatically re-aim to the satellite no matter where or how the vehicle (on which the antenna is mounted) is situated   These mobile satellite antennas are popular with some recreational vehicle owners   Such mobile DBS antennas are also used by JetBlue Airways for DirecTV (supplied by LiveTV, a subsidiary of JetBlue), which passengers can view on-board on LCD screens mounted in the seats 

Radio broadcasting
Satellite radio offers audio broadcast services in some countries, notably the United States  Mobile services allow listeners to roam a continent, listening to the same audio programming anywhere 
A satellite radio or subscription radio (SR) is a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals 

Amateur radio
Amateur radio operators have access to amateur satellites, which have been designed specifically to carry amateur radio traffic  Most such satellites operate as spaceborne repeaters, and are generally accessed by amateurs equipped with UHF or VHF radio equipment and highly directional antennas such as Yagis or dish antennas  Due to launch costs, most current amateur satellites are launched into fairly low Earth orbits, and are designed to deal with only a limited number of brief contacts at any given time  Some satellites also provide data-forwarding services using the X 25 or similar protocols 

Internet access
After the 1990s, satellite communication technology has been used as a means to connect to the Internet via broadband data connections  This can be very useful for users who are located in remote areas, and cannot access a broadband connection, or require high availability of services 

Military
Communications satellites are used for military communications applications, such as Global Command and Control Systems  Examples of military systems that use communication satellites are the MILSTAR, the DSCS, and the FLTSATCOM of the United States, NATO satellites, United Kingdom satellites (for instance Skynet), and satellites of the former Soviet Union  India has launched its first Military Communication satellite GSAT-7, its transponders operate in UHF, F, C and Ku band bands  Typically military satellites operate in the UHF, SHF (also known as X-band) or EHF (also known as Ka band) frequency bands 

Data collection
Near-ground in situ environmental monitoring equipment (such as weather stations, weather buoys, and radiosondes), may use satellites for one-way data transmission or two-way telemetry and telecontrol  It may be based on a secondary payload of a weather satellite (as in the case of GOES and METEOSAT and others in the Argos system) or in dedicated satellites (such as SCD)  The data rate is typically much lower than in satellite Internet access 

See also
Passage 4:
ATS-6
ATS-6 (Applications Technology Satellite-6)  was a NASA experimental satellite, built by Fairchild Space and Electronics Division It has been called the world's first educational satellite as well as world's first experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite as part of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment between NASA and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)  It was launched May 30, 1974, and decommissioned July 1979  At the time of launch, it was the most powerful telecommunication satellite in orbit  ATS-6 carried no fewer than 23 different experiments, and introduced several breakthroughs  It was the first 3-axis stabilized spacecraft in geostationary orbit  It was also the first to use experimentally with some success electric propulsion in geostationary orbit  It also carried several particle physics experiments, including the first heavy ion detector in geostationary orbit 
During its five-year life, ATS-6 transmitted connection programming to various countries, including India, the United States and other regions  The vehicle also conducted air traffic control tests, was used to practice satellite-assisted search and rescue techniques, carried an experimental radiometer subsequently carried as a standard instrument aboard weather satellites, and pioneered direct broadcast TV 
ATS-6 was a precursor to many technologies still in use today on geostationary spacecraft: large deployable antenna, 3-axis attitude control with slewing capabilities, antenna pointing through RF sensing, electric propulsion, meteorological radiometer in geostationary orbit, and direct to home broadcasting  It is also possible that ATS-6 was a forerunner of the large ELINT satellites such as Mentor 

Launch
ATS-6 was launched on May 30, 1974, by a Titan III-C launch vehicle  The spacecraft was inserted directly in the geosynchronous orbit  This reduced the on-board fuel requirements to less than 40 kilograms (88 lb) (for a total mass at launch of nearly 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb))  The highly accurate orbit insertion further lowered the amount of fuel required for final positioning to 9 kilograms (20 lb)  This enabled a life extension from the original 2 year to 5 years, even accounting for the premature failure of the electric propulsion subsystem (the station-keeping fuel requirement being around 1 6 kilograms per year (3 5 lb/a)) 

Structure, power subsystem and antenna
One of the major innovations of ATS-6 was an in-flight deployable antenna of more than 9 metres (30 ft) in diameter  The antenna reflector was furled during launch under the launch vehicle fairing, and was deployed in orbit much like an umbrella  The antenna reflector was built from 48 aluminum ribs, supporting a metallized Dacron mesh  The antenna feeds (in C, S, L, UHF and VHF bands) were placed on the spacecraft body, facing the antenna reflector, and linked to the antenna and the solar panels masts by a carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) truss  The solar panels were rigidly mounted on two deployable masts  They were of hemi-cylinder shape, thus providing a relatively constant power (595 W beginning of life)  Electric power was supplied during eclipses by two Nickel cadmium batteries of 15-A·h capacity, powering a regulated 30 5-V bus  The satellite dimensions in orbit were 15 8-metre (52 ft) width by 8 2-metre (27 ft) height 
This deployable antenna parabola was designed and developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC), now Lockheed Martin, under subcontract to Fairchild Aerospace, after several years of small study contracts at LMSC   The program manager at LMSC was GKC (Colin) Campbell   The deployment of the reflector was initiated by pyrotechnically operated SQUIB cable cutters   Deployment time was on the order of 2 5 seconds producing 3,400 newton-metres (2,500 lb⋅ft) of torque at the spacecraft interface   The reflector surface was designed for optimal operation at S-Band frequencies  It weighed 83 kilograms (182 lb) at launch and stowed into a toroidal volume (doughnut shaped) approximately 1 8 metres (6 ft) in diameter and 250 millimetres (10 in) thick   Three models were fabricated, the STM or structural test model, the F reflector and the G reflector   The STM was destroyed by Fairchild shortly after the program was finished and the F model was launched with the spacecraft in 1972   The G model sat unprotected in the Farchild parking lot for several years before it was donated to the Smithsonian   Bill Wade, the assistant program manager and test manager on the program supported The Smithsonian in the restoration by providing a complete set of drawings and specifications and visited the Silver Hill facility to provide technical guidance At the time of launch it was the largest parabolic surface launched into orbit 

Three-axis stabilisation
ATS-6 has been the first geostationary satellite with three-axis stabilization and pointing , This subsystem was capable of a highly accurate pointing (better than 0 1° through the inertial measurement units, down to 0 002° by using a radio-frequency interferometer )  Furthermore, the satellite was able to follow low earth orbit satellites through slewing, by tracking the low earth-orbit satellite through an S-band RF sensing  The system was also able to perform orbitography of the tracked satellite, and was a precursor to the operational system TDRSS 
This highly advanced (for the time) pointing subsystem used earth and sun sensors, a star tracker pointed to the pole star, Polaris, and three inertial sensors  The sensor measurements were fed to two digital computers (nominal and redundant), as well to a back-up analog computer  It was also possible to orient the satellite by using radio-frequency sensors   Actuators were three momentum wheels, and hot gas (hydrazine mono-propellant) thrusters  One of the momentum wheels having failed in July 1975, an alternative scheme was developed, allowing station-keeping with the two remaining wheels and thrusters 

Electric propulsion
ATS-6 was equipped with two electric thrusters based on the acceleration of cesium ions, that were to be used for North-South Station Keeping  This subsystem development followed earlier failed attempts on the previous ATS spacecraft  Each of the thrusters had a mass of 16 kilograms (35 lb), used 150 W of electric power, and produced a thrust of 4 newton-metres (3 0 lbf⋅ft), with a specific impulse of 2500s  The on-board supply of cesium would have been sufficient for 4400 hours of thrust  Unfortunately, both thrusters failed prematurely, one after 1 hour of operation, one after 95 hours  However, some of the experiments objectives could be met, such as the measurement of the effective thrust, the absence of any interference with the radio-frequency payloads (from 150 MHz to 6 GHz), no cesium redeposition on the critical parts of the payload (such as the radiometer), and the correct neutralisation of the spacecraft versus its environment 

Payload
Radiometer
A radiometer was on board ATS-6, mounted on the earth-facing panel  This instrument was (for the time) of very high resolution  It operated on two channels: infra-red (10 5 to 12 5 µm) and visible light (0 55 to 0 75 µm)  Images taken with the radiometer covered the whole earth disk, with a resolution of 1,200 lines of 2,400 pixels each (11-kilometre (6 8 mi) square pixel in infra-red, and 5 5-kilometre (3 4 mi) square in visible light)  The IR detector was passively cooled at 115K, and the visible light detector maintained at 300K  A complete image of earth's disk was transmitted to ground every 25 minutes  Several hundreds images were taken and transmitted, until a mechanical component of the radiometer failed, two and a half months after launch 

Telecommunication experiments
The main mission of ATS-6 was to demonstrate the feasibility of direct-to-home (DTH) television broadcasting  To this end, in addition to the high-gain antenna, the spacecraft payload was able to receive in any of the VHF, C, S and L-bands, and to transmit in S-band (2 GHz) through a 20-W solid state transmitter, in L-band (1650 MHz) at 40W, in UHF (860 MHz) at 80W (which was used for the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)), and with a TWTA-based transmitter of 20 W in C-band (4 GHz)  The antenna produced two spots on earth of 400,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi) each, in which the TV broadcast could be received with 3 metres (9 8 ft) diameter antennas  This payload was first used over the United States for tele-education and tele-medicine experiments, from August 1974 to May 1975 as part of the HET, or Health, Education, Telecommunications experiment developed jointly by NASA and the US Department of Health, Education, & Welfare (now DHHS)  The spacecraft was then moved over the geo-stationary arc from 94 °W to 35 °E, in collaboration with the Indian Space Agency (ISRO), who had deployed in India more than 2500 receive ground stations  The move of the satellite from 94 degrees West to 35 degrees East, a journey of 12,800 kilometres (8,000 mi), was actioned from the ground station at Rosman North Carolina  This relocation involved 2 rocket burns of the onboard rocket motor  The 2nd burn lasting 5 hours 37 minutes and 17 seconds  The longest burn ever done by a chemical rocket in space at that time  A tele-education programme was started – Satellite Instructional Television Experiment or SITE – and run for one year  During the experiment, a receive station was offered by the Indian Government to Arthur C  Clarke, who was living in Sri Lanka  This experiment was highly successful, and encouraged ISRO to start building an operational program, with the Indian spacecraft  INSAT IB (launched 1983)  After the SITE experiment, the satellite was brought back over the United States, and served notably as a data-relay and tracking satellite for low-orbit spacecraft such as Nimbus 6, and for the Apollo-Soyuz flight 

Particle physics experiments
Several particle physics experiments were on board ATS-6  The most significant measured low energy protons (from 25 keV to 3 6 MeV), as well as detected heavy ions (up to 6 MeV)  This latter experiment allowed to detect the first heavy ions (Z > 6) with an energy  E > 4 MeV, in geostationary orbit 

Propagation experiments
Finally, ATS-6 embarked several radio beacons, which allowed to measure electromagnetic propagation properties of the atmosphere at 13, 18, 20 and 30 GHz 

Decommissioning
By June 30, 1979, only one of the four ATS-6 station keeping thrusters was working, and was showing signs of unreliability  This thruster was used to move ATS-6 out of geostationary orbit to an orbit several hundred kilometers higher  This was to vacate the geostationary slot for the next satellite 

See also
1974 in spaceflight
Applications Technology Satellite
Passage 5:
FedSat
FedSat (Australia's 'Federation Satellite'; sometimes FedSat 1; COSPAR 2002-056B, SATCAT 27598) was an Australian scientific research satellite launched from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan by a NASDA H-IIA launch vehicle  on 14 December 2002 (NASDA is now merged with JAXA)  The satellite was developed by the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems, a cooperative made up of several universities, commercial organisations and government bodies  The ground station was at the Institute for Telecommunications Research, part of the University of South Australia, near Adelaide  Since 2005 it was operated by the Australian Department of Defence 

Payloads
The satellite had six payloads, as given below:

Communications Payload: A collection of three components (UHF transponder, Ka-band transponder and base-band processor) used to perform several experiments in satellite communications 
High Performance Computing Experiment: A reconfigurable computer based on a Xilinx XQR4062 FPGA, the first of its kind to be used in space 
GPS Payload: A Global Positioning System receiver built by NASA  Conceived especially for ionospheric studies between GPS constellation levels and FedSat orbit 
NewMag Payload: A magnetometer built by the University of Newcastle, Australia, used to take measurements of the Earth's magnetic field near its poles 
Star Camera: An experimental star camera built by the University of Stellenbosch, used to determine the position of the satellite in space by analysing images of surrounding stars 
Compact Disk: A nickel "master" disk "cultural time capsule" with tracks including Paul Kelly's performance of the song he co-wrote with Kev Carmody, "From Little Things, Big Things Grow", and recorded statements from several hundred Australian school children about how they imagined a future Australia and its place in the Asia-Pacific The satellite platform, comprising the structural/thermal components, power system, attitude control system, onboard computer and groundlink, was originally developed in the United Kingdom by Space Innovations Limited  It was later completed along with integration of payloads in Canberra, Australia 

Declared Dead
The spacecraft's battery failed in May 2007 and the mission has been terminated, after lasting 18 months longer than expected 
Passage 6:
NOAA-4
NOAA-4, also known as ITOS-G was a weather satellite operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  It was part of a series of satellites called ITOS, or improved TIROS  NOAA-4 was launched on a Delta rocket on November 15, 1974  The launch carried two other satellites: AMSAT-OSCAR 7 and Intasat  It remained operational for 1463 days until it was deactivated by NOAA on November 18, 1978 
Passage 7:
Hans K  Ziegler
Hans K  Ziegler (March 1, 1911, Munich, Germany – December 11, 1999 Colts Neck Township, New Jersey, United States) was a pioneer in the field of communication satellites and the use of photovoltaic solar cells as a power source for satellites 

Life
Hans Ziegler was born in Munich, Germany  There, he studied at the Technische Hochschule, which is today the Technische Universität München (TUM), and began his career as Wissenschaftlicher Assistant (Scientific Assistant)  Following that, he was a researcher in German industry for ten years  During the Second World War, he worked for the company Rosental Selb in Bavaria on high tension porcelain 
In 1947, he came to the US with Wernher von Braun under Operation Paperclip, by means of which the USA gained Nazi engineers and scientists  He went to the US Army Signal Corps' Laboratories in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and became a US citizen in 1954 
Ziegler's work in the US was very influential in the development of military electronics, especially in the electronics for the early phases of the US space program  During the thirty years he worked as an engineer in the field of electronics and electrical engineering in the research and development department of the U S  Army in Fort Monmouth, N J  (from 1947 to 1976), he held the top position of Chief Scientist for 12 years  In Fort Monmouth, he worked as a Scientific Consultant, Assistant Director of Research, Director of the Astro-Electronics Division and Chief Scientist (1959)  After the Army was restructured, he became Deputy for Science and Chief Scientist of the US Army Electronics Command in 1963 and Director of the US Army Electronics Technology & Devices Laboratory from 1971 until his retirement 
In May 1954, after examining the solar cells of Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson at Bell Laboratories, Ziegler wrote, "Future development [of the silicon solar cell] may well render it into an important source of electrical power [as] the roofs of all our buildings in cities and towns equipped with solar [cells] would be sufficient to produce this country's entire demand for electrical power "Referring to silicon solar cells, he said to the head of the U  S  Signal Corps, General James O'Connell, at a meeting in September 1955, "In fact, in the long run, mankind has no choice but to turn to the sun if it wants to survive "He and his team produced a report on the prospects for application of this technique in the field of communication and they named the supply of energy for artificial satellites as the most important application  He knew that he was not the first to suggest this application  For example, the science fiction author, Arthur C  Clarke had already made this suggestion in 1945, but without having a concrete technology for it at that time 
Ziegler participated in the development of the first planned satellites  The first satellite,
Explorer 1, still went into space without solar cells, since it was a quick, less-than-ideal solution after the start of the Sputnik to show the American public that America's scientists could also start a satellite  The actual scheduled satellite project, Project Vanguard, successfully put a satellite named Vanguard I in orbit around Earth on March 17, 1958 
Over the objections of the Navy, which still thought that solar cells were not a mature technology, this satellite had four solar cells on its outer hull, due to the persistent work of Ziegler, which powered the instruments and performed their duties reliably for more than seven years  After this success, solar cells were established as the energy supply for satellites  He was also involved with the development of the first communication satellite in the world, SCORE, which was started in 1958 
He was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award by the US Department of Defense in 1963 as a " world pioneer in communications satellites and solar energy systems to power satellites"  When he retired in 1977, he was decorated with the highest award of the Army for "exceptional civilian service" 
Ziegler was the author of many technical papers, a member of the IEEE, and represented the US, in military and civilian matters, in many national and international committees  In 1958, he was a member of the US delegation to the International Geophysical Year in Moscow, USSR, and in 1964, he gave advice on the scientific activities in Antarctica and at the South Pole, under the direction of the US National Science Foundation 
Ziegler's wife Friederike died in 1996  He last lived in Colts Neck Township, New Jersey and died at the age of 88 on December 11, 1999  He was survived by his daughters, Christine Griffith and Friederike Meindl, and his son, Hans 

See also
Solar power
Solar panel
Active solar
Photovoltaic components, projects and howtos
Passage 8:
TDRS-6
TDRS-6, known before launch as TDRS-F, is an American communications satellite, of first generation, which is operated by NASA as part of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System  It was constructed by TRW, and is based on a custom satellite bus which was used for all seven first generation TDRS satellites 

History
TDRS-F was deployed from Space Shuttle Endeavour during the STS-54 mission in 1993  Endeavour was launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, at 13:59:30 UTC on 13 January 1993  TDRS-F was deployed from Endeavour around six hours after launch, and was raised to geosynchronous orbit by means of an Inertial Upper Stage 

Deployment
The two-stage solid-propellent Inertial Upper Stage made two burns  The first stage burn occurred shortly after deployment from Endeavour, and placed the satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO)  At 02:26 UTC on 14 January 1993, it reached apogee, and the second stage fired, placing TDRS-F into geosynchronous orbit  At this point, it received its operational designation, TDRS-6 

Operation
In 1994, it was placed at a longitude 46 0° West of the Greenwich Meridian, to serve as an on-orbit spare  In 1996, it was moved to 47 0° West, where it remained until 2005, when it was repositioned to 174 0° West, where, as of August 2009, it was used to provide communications with spacecraft in Earth orbit, such as the International Space Station (ISS) and spacecraft bringing astronauts to the ISS 

See also
List of TDRS satellites
Passage 9:
GSAT-7
GSAT-7 or INSAT-4F is a multi-band military communications satellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation  The Indian Navy is the user of the multi-band communication spacecraft, which has been operational since September 2013  According to defense experts, the satellite will enable the navy to extend its blue water capabilities and stop relying on foreign satellites like Inmarsat, which provide communication services to its ships 

Satellite
GSAT-7, the multi-band communication satellite named Rukmini carries the payloads in UHF, C band and Ku band  It is the first dedicated military communication satellite (unlike earlier dual use satellites) built by ISRO that will provide services to the Indian Armed Forces with the main user being the Indian Navy  Its procured launch cost has been put at ₹480 crore, with the satellite costing ₹185 crore  Cost of whole project per Memorandum of Understanding with ISRO was ₹950 crores The multiple-band spacecraft will be used exclusively by the Navy to shore up secure, real-time communications among its warships, submarines, aircraft and land systems  GSAT-7/ INSAT-4F is said to significantly improve the country's naval operations around the world  
GSAT 7 satellite carrying payloads operating in UHF, S, C and Ku bands, had a lift-off mass of 2,650 kilograms (5,840 lb) and is based on ISRO's 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) class satellite bus I-2K with some new technological elements, including the antennae  After a flight of almost 34 minutes, the satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) of 249-kilometre (155 mi) perigee, 35,929-kilometre (22,325 mi) apogee and an inclination of 3 5 degree with respect to the equator ISRO launched a second satellite, GSAT-7A for Indian Air Force on 19 December 2018 on its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F11) 

Launch
The satellite was launched early on 30 August 2013 atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou, French Guiana India's first dedicated military satellite was put into a geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) above Earth, five days after it was launched after three orbit-raising manoeuvres from ISRO's Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka  The 2 5-tonne spacecraft's antennae, including the ultra high frequency Helix antenna were deployed before it was stabilised on its three-axis in the orbit  All of the on-board transponders were switched on successfully on September 18, 2013

Capability
Rukmini will provide networking capabilities to various Indian Naval assets  During Theater-level Readiness and Operational Exercise (Tropex) in the Bay of Bengal in 2014, Rukmini was able to network about 60 ships and 75 aircraft seamlessly  Rukmini has a nearly 2,000 nautical mile 'footprint' over the Indian Ocean Region 

Replacement
The Indian Navy placed an order for GSAT-7R on June 11, 2019  GSAT-7R is expected to eventually replace GSAT-7 

See also
Indian military satellites
GSAT-7A
GSAT
Indian National Satellite System
List of Indian satellites
Context 3:  After Arthur's death, Bart became obsessed with the phrase "I can only imagine" after hearing his grandmother say that she could only imagine what Arthur was seeing in heaven  Millard found comfort in the thought and began to write it on anything he could find Once Millard started writing the song, he estimated that it took him only about ten minutes to write the lyrics  Millard said that it was one of the few songs he had ever written where there were not any mistakes in the writing process; "it was just written the way it is and left at that"  MercyMe initially attempted to record "I Can Only Imagine" as a fast song, but after several failed attempts, Millard talked with Bryson about arranging it into a slower version  As the band was tearing down the equipment in their recording studio, Bryson began playing a piano intro  Millard immediately decided to use the intro, and the rest of the song was completed in around five minutes  Although the rest of the band did not see how it would fit on the record, as it didn't meet the basic verse-chorus format the rest of the album had, they felt it needed to be included on it because it meant so much to Millard The Worship Project was released on October 14, 1999  Sales for the album far exceeded the band's previous efforts; Millard estimated the album's overall sales at 100,000, which other sources peg the album's sales as of 2006 at 60,000 or 65,000 copies  The difficulty of meeting sales demands when selling the album directly, in addition to having to book and manage for themselves, led the band to pursue a contract with a record label; MercyMe would sign with INO Records in 2000  "I Can Only Imagine" was one of several songs from the band's independent records that were selected to be included on their debut album with INO, Almost There (2001) 

Composition
"I Can Only Imagine" is set in the key of E major and has a tempo of 80 beats per minute  Bart Millard's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of B3 to the high note of G♯5  Millard is credited with writing and composing the song  A contemporary Christian and pop song, "I Can Only Imagine" has been considered both a ballad and a power ballad  The song opens up with only a piano, building up to include guitar and drums The song has a directly Christian message; its religious lyrics weren't edited for mainstream radio  In the song, the narrator wonders what it would be like to stand before God in heaven  In the refrain, the singer ponders "Will I dance for You Jesus/or in awe of you be still/Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall/Will I sing hallelujah/will I be able to speak at all/I can only imagine/I can only imagine"  Regarding the lyrical theme of "I Can Only Imagine", Millard explained to Fox News that "I was always told that if [my father] could choose, he would rather be in Heaven than here with me  As a Christian I believed that, but as an 18-year-old it was a little hard to swallow  So the questions in the song came from me asking God what was so great about Him that my dad would rather be there "

Critical reception
Critical reception for "I Can Only Imagine" was positive  Steve Losey of AllMusic praised it as being "passionate" and "emotionally compelling"  Kevin Chamberlin of Jesus Freak Hideout said the song's lyrics were "amazing"  It was called the "definite highlight" of Almost There by New Release Tuesday's Kevin McNeese, who also praised its piano intro, saying it "instantly invokes chills", as well as the song's lyrical content  Charisma writer Margaret Feinburg lauded the song's "heart-gripping" lyrics, and it was cited as the centerpiece of the album by Megumi Nakamura of Cross Rhythms, who called it "beautiful and touching"  Writing for CCM Magazine, Adam Woodroof described the song as "heavenly" and said it was the highlight of Almost There  Although Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today called it "beautiful and inspiring", he questioned if "I Can Only Imagine" was actually a worship song At the 33rd GMA Dove Awards in 2002, I Can Only Imagine" earned the GMA Dove Awards for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year and Song of the Year  Millard won the award for Songwriter of the Year at the same ceremony as well as at the 25th American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Christian Music Awards, held on June 2, 2003   In 2004, CCM Magazine ranked "I Can Only Imagine" as the fourth-greatest song in Christian music 

Legacy
"I Can Only Imagine" has been regarded as MercyMe's "breakthrough hit" as well as their signature song  It is the most-played song in the history of Christian radio and one of the most-played songs in the history of contemporary music  As of April 2018, it is the best-selling Christian song of all-time  It has consistently ranked among the best-selling Christian digital songs each year in the Billboard year-end charts, ranging from number 19 in 2016 to number three in 2018  It is often requested to be played at funerals  "I Can Only Imagine" was named the official inspirational song for the state of Oklahoma in 2018; the measure was passed by the Oklahoma Legislature and signed by Governor Mary Fallin The story behind "I Can Only Imagine" was adapted into a film  Directed by the Erwin Brothers and starring J  Michael Finley as Bart Millard and Dennis Quaid as Arthur Millard, the movie was released to theaters on March 16, 2018  It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and exceeded initial expectations at the box office, grossing $17 1 million in its opening week  This was the fourth best-ever opening for a faith-based film, behind only The Passion of the Christ, Son of God, and Heaven Is for Real  The film finished its theatrical run having grossed $83 4 million in the United States and Canada and $1 8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $85 2 million  As of August 2019, it ranks as the fifth-highest grossing music biopic of all-time in the United States (behind Bohemian Rhapsody, Straight Outta Compton, Walk the Line, and Rocketman) and was the highest-grossing independent film of 2018 

Release and promotion
Originally, "I Can Only Imagine" was set to be released by fellow Christian artist Amy Grant  Millard had initially declined a request from Grant's record label to allow her to record the song; some segments of the Christian community had reacted negatively to her divorce, and Millard wasn't sure if he wanted to be involved  After consulting with his pastor, who felt Millard should accept the opportunity, he began to reconsider, and finally agreed to let her cover it after talking with Grant over the phone  Grant had planned to release her version of the song as the lead single from her upcoming album and MercyMe would release a different song as their first single, hoping to capitalize on having written what would presumably become a major hit for Grant  The band released their first single from Almost There, "Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)", which performed poorly at Christian radio, leading to poor sales of the album  Plans were made to release another single from the record, but the band's manager, Scott Brickell, decided to reach out to Grant to see if she still planned to release her version as a single  Grant gave MercyMe her blessing to release the song as a single and signed the rights back to the band; "I Can Only Imagine" was released on October 12, 2001, as the album's second single The song debuted on the Christian AC chart on November 2, 2001, reached the No  1 position on February 22, 2002, and spent two weeks at the top spot  It also peaked at No  15 on the Radio & Records Christian CHR chart  The song became the most-played song on Christian radio in 2002  As a result of its success on radio, Almost There experienced a "surge" in sales, debuting on the Billboard 200 in December 2001 and entering the top ten on the Christian Albums chart in January 2002  The song stayed on Christian radio for so long that plans to release a third single from Almost There were cancelled, with the band instead beginning work on a new album In 2003, a Dallas mainstream radio station, 100 3 Wild-FM, played the song on its morning show, The Fitz Radio Program  They had responded to a caller's repeated requests and the urgings of the program's producer, Todd Sheppard, a former seminary student  Although it had been played almost as joke, it soon became the most requested and most played song on the station  After hearing the song played on the station, Millard called-in and spoke with the crew, and MercyMe then came in and played the song live  Big Gay Steven, one of the show's hosts, described their audience's response to the song as "overwhelming"  As other mainstream stations around the country began to play the song, MercyMe's label, INO Records, partnered with Curb Records to market the single to mainstream radio  Its initial success was seen as surprising due to its overtly religious themes, although several other Christian artists had begun achieving mainstream success at the same time, including Stacie Orrico, whose singles "Stuck" and "(There's Gotta Be) More to Life" had both hit the Billboard Hot 100  Curb began to promote the song to adult contemporary and Top 40 radio, and INO and Curb released a double A-side physical single, "I Can Only Imagine/Word of God Speak", in September 2003 "I Can Only Imagine" debuted on the Adult Contemporary chart on May 23, 2003, eventually peaking at No  5 for the chart week of September 8, 2003  "I Can Only Imagine" spent 30 weeks on the chart  The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of October 11, 2003 at No  76  The song peaked at No  71 and spent 16 non-consecutive weeks on the chart  "I Can Only Imagine" also peaked at No  1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, a component chart of the Billboard Hot 100 that ranks the best-selling physical single releases, for 10 weeks  During the week of November 22, 2003, it became the first No  1 physical single to be outsold by the highest-selling digital single of the week; for that week, "I Can Only Imagine" sold 7,500 physical copies in the United States while Outkast's "Hey Ya!" sold 8,500 digital downloads  The song also charted on the Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, and Country Songs charts In 2012, "I Can Only Imagine" appeared on France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) chart, spending two weeks and peaking at No  65  In March 2018, following the release of the film I Can Only Imagine, which was based on the song's story, it appeared on the Billboard Christian Songs chart; because the chart had been created after the song's original run on Christian radio, it was eligible to chart for the first time  It debuted at No  2 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and also spent a third week at No  1 on the Billboard Christian Digital Songs chart; the song had spent 425 weeks on the chart at that point, the longest run of any song in the chart's history  "I Can Only Imagine" peaked at No  1 on the Christian Songs chart on March 31, 2018, and spent three weeks at the top spot  It also peaked at No  10 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart and ranked at No  8 on the 2018 year-end Christian Songs chart In April 2010, "I Can Only Imagine" was certified platinum by the RIAA, signifying sales of over 1 million digital downloads  It was the first single by any artist in the Christian music genre to go platinum  The song was certified double platinum in September 2014, triple platinum in June 2018, and quadruple platinum in September 2019  As of March 2018, it has sold 2 5 million copies, making it the best-selling Christian single of all time 

Music video
A music video was released for "I Can Only Imagine"  According to Millard, the video's inspiration came from seeing people holding empty picture frames at their concerts, symbolizing their deceased loved ones  Millard said that the "I've had so many people after a show pull out a picture of someone they've lost  These people embrace these photos and I just thought how can we tap into that"  The video features everyday people as well as several music artists including Michael Tait, Tammy Trent, Bob Herdman, and Jesse Katina, each holding an empty picture frame to signify their loss of a loved one; as the video progresses, they are holding pictures of their loved ones including Millard with his father's photograph 

Live performances
Despite including "I Can Only Imagine" on The Worship Project, MercyMe initially did not perform the song in concerts because they felt it did not fit with the rest of the record  The band's first performance of the song did not come until the summer after the release of The Worship Project at a summer camp at the request of a camp counselor  The band has played the song at every show since as of February 2009 MercyMe's 2004 concert tour (the Imagine Tour) and 2018–19 tour (the Imagine Nation Tour) both took their name from the song MercyMe performed "I Can Only Imagine" at the 33rd GMA Dove Awards, with an accompanying "inspiring video that underscored the emotional and inspirational power of song"  The band also performed the song at the 40th GMA Dove Awards, held on April 23, 2009, in a medley with "Finally Home"  At the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, MercyMe performed the song with President Donald Trump in attendance  In March 2018, MercyMe performed "I Can Only Imagine" live on Fox & Friends to promote the film 

Other versions
Both an acoustic and live version of "I Can Only Imagine" were included in the Platinum edition of Almost There, which was released in August 2006  MercyMe released a new recording of the song on their iTunes Originals album, which was released in March 2008  On their compilation album 10, MercyMe released a new recording of the song featuring the London Session Orchestra as well as a live version  For their 2018 compilation album I Can Only Imagine: The Very Best of MercyMe, released to commemorate the release of the movie, the band recorded an updated recording titled "I Can Only Imagine (The Movie Session)", which peaked at No  19 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart "I Can Only Imagine" has been covered by several artists  In 2002, Amy Grant released her reworked version of the song, titled "Imagine" and paired with "Sing the Wondrous Love of Jesus", on her album Legacy    Hymns and Faith  Country singer Jeff Carson's 2003 cover peaked at No  50 on the Country Songs chart, and in 2014, gospel singer Tamela Mann's cover of the song spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard Gospel Songs chart  In May 2017, Aliyah Moulden, the third-place finisher on the 12th season of the reality competition show The Voice, performed the song on the show; her version debuted and peaked at No  4 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, selling 15,000 copies in its first week and spending two weeks on the chart in total 

Track listing
CD release
"I Can Only Imagine" – 4:06 (Bart Millard)
"Word of God Speak" – 3:07 (Peter Kipley, Millard)

Personnel
(Credits from the album liner notes)MercyMe

Bart Millard – vocals
Jim Bryson – keyboards
Nathan Cochran – bass guitar, background vocals
Mike Scheuchzer – guitar, background vocals
Robby Shaffer – drumsAdditional performers

Paltrow Performance Group – stringsTechnical

Julian Kindred – engineer
Pete Kipley – producer, programming
Skye McCaskey  – engineer
Salvo – mixing
Shane Wilson – mixing

Release and radio history
Charts and certifications
Certifications
Passage 10:
Minipops
Minipops is a television series broadcast in 1983 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom  Designed primarily for younger viewers, it consisted of music performances on a brightly coloured set featuring preteen children singing then-contemporary pop music hits and older classics  The children were usually made to look like the original performers, including clothing and make-up  Controversy over children singing songs that often contained a subtext of adult content (in adult costumes and make-up) led to the show's cancellation after one series 

History
Minipops was the brainchild of Martin Wyatt, who created a new child group from London called the MiniPops and released an album in 1982 which reached the top 30 in the UK and Europe  This resulted in a French record label releasing a single from the album, "Stupid Cupid",  which was sung by Martin Wyatt's young daughter Jo  The song reached number 1 in France, knocking "Ebony and Ivory" off the top spot Head of Entertainment Cecil Korer at Channel 4 and record producer Mike Mansfield embraced the idea of producing a TV show around the MiniPops; Korer believed it would boost and broaden the group's audience appeal  On 4 July 1982, thousands of amateur child performers from across Britain descended on a London theatre for the audition in a search to find additional children to sing and star in the television show with the original five members of the group 

Criticism
The programme began attracting criticism from commentators in the British media for the portrayal of children in this manner (one caller on Channel 4's Right to Reply programme stated, "Minipops should be called MiniWhores  Are you people out of your mind?") 

Discography
Seven albums were produced and released in the UK, Europe and Canada 

Albums
Before the television show:

The Mini Pops (1982)After the television show:

We're the Mini Pops (1983)
Christmas (1984)
Let's Dance (1984)
Wanna Have Fun (1985)
Magic Juke Box (1986)
Rocket to the Stars (1989)In Canada We're the Mini Pops was successful, becoming the third-highest-selling album in Canada at the time  This prompted the Minipops to hold a three-week tour in 1983, enjoying controversy-free success A number of singles were released across Europe 

See also
Kidz Bop
Mini Pop Kids
Passage 11:
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence  Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music Adult contemporary tends to have lush, soothing and highly polished qualities where emphasis on melody and harmonies is accentuated  It is usually melodic enough to get a listener's attention, and is inoffensive and pleasurable enough to work well as background music  Like most of pop music, its songs tend to be written in a basic format employing a verse–chorus structure  The format is heavy on romantic sentimental ballads which mostly use acoustic instruments (though bass guitar is usually used) such as acoustic guitars, pianos, saxophones, and sometimes an orchestral set  The electric guitars are normally faint and high-pitched  However, recent adult contemporary music may feature synthesizers (and other electronics, such as drum machines) An AC radio station may play mainstream music, but it usually excludes hip-hop and some forms of dance-pop and teen pop, as these are less popular among adults, the target demographic  AC radio often targets the 25–44 age group, the demographic that has received the most attention from advertisers since the 1960s  A common practice in recent years of adult contemporary stations is to play less newer music and more hits of the past, even some songs that never even charted the AC charts   This de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart Over the years, AC has spawned subgenres including "hot AC" (also known as "modern AC"), "soft AC" (also known as "lite AC"), "urban AC" (a softer type of urban contemporary music), "rhythmic AC" (a softer type of rhythmic contemporary), and "Christian AC" (a softer type of contemporary Christian music)  Some stations play only "hot AC", "soft AC", or only one of the variety of subgenres  Therefore, it is not usually considered a specific genre of music; it is merely an assemblage of selected songs from artists of many different genres 

History
1960s: Early roots; easy listening and soft rock
Adult contemporary traces its roots to the 1960s easy listening format, which adopted a 70—80% instrumental to 20–30% vocal mix  A few offered 90% instrumentals, and a handful were entirely instrumental  The easy listening format, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as "rock and roll" stations  Billboard first published the Easy Listening chart July 17, 1961, with 20 songs; the first number one was "Boll Weevil Song" by Brook Benton  The chart described itself as "not too far out in either direction" Initially, the vocalists consisted of artists such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, and others  The custom recordings were usually instrumental versions of current or recent rock and roll or pop hit songs, a move intended to give the stations more mass appeal without selling out  Some stations would also occasionally play earlier big band-era recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced  Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically  As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s  Roger Miller, Barbra Streisand and Bobby Vinton were among the chart's most popular performers One big impetus for the development of the AC radio format was that, when rock and roll music first became popular in the mid-1950s, many more conservative radio stations wanted to continue to play current hit songs while shying away from rock  These middle of the road (or "MOR") stations also frequently included older, pre-rock-era adult standards and big band titles to further appeal to adult listeners who had grown up with those songs 
Another big impetus for the evolution of the AC radio format was the popularity of easy listening or "beautiful music" stations, stations with music specifically designed to be purely ambient  Whereas most easy listening music was instrumental, created by relatively unknown artists, and rarely purchased (especially as singles, although Jackie Gleason's beautiful music albums sold well in the 1950s), AC was an attempt to create a similar "lite" format by choosing certain tracks (both hit singles and album cuts) of popular artists 

1970s: Soft rock forms as a radio format
By the late 1960s hard rock had been established as one of the rock genres leading hard rock and soft rock to became distinct popular forms in the rock scene, and as major radio formats in the US  Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies  Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens, James Taylor and Bread In the early 1970s, softer songs by The Carpenters, Anne Murray, John Denver, Barry Manilow, and even Barbra Streisand, began to be played more often on "Top 40" radio  Top 40 radio stations played the Top 40 hits regardless of genre   As the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio began to soften, the Hot 100 and Easy Listening/AC charts became more similar



ground_truth: ATS - 6 (Applications Technology Satellite - 6)

ATS-6

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who started out his career on adult contemporary radio along with the performer of All That Echoes?

The following are given passages.
Context 3:  Easy Listening radio began playing songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll or R&B  Much of the music recorded by singer-songwriters such as Diana Ross, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carole King and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on AC stations than on Top 40 stations  AC stations also began playing softer songs by Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, and other rock-based artists  Soon after, the adult contemporary format began evolving into the sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago and the Eagles, becoming associated with the format  In addition, several early disco songs, did well on the Adult Contemporary format 
Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Air Supply, Seals and Crofts, Dan Fogelberg, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade  By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC-owned WYNY, and Boston's WEEI, had switched to an all-soft rock format  As Softrock 103, WEEI was famous for its promotional campaigns, featuring slogans such as "Joni, without the baloni " and "The Byrds, without the nyrds "  However, different forms of popular music  targeted to different demographic groups, such as disco vs  hard rock, began to emerge in the late-1970s  This led to specialized radio stations that played specific genres of music, and generally followed the evolution of artists in those genres 

1980s: Adult contemporary succeeds as radio format
On April 7, 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since  Adult contemporary music became one of the most popular radio formats of the 1980s  The growth of AC was a natural result of the generation that first listened to the more "specialized" music of the mid-late 1970s growing older and not being interested in the heavy metal and rap/hip-hop music that a new generation helped to play a significant role in the Top 40 charts by the end of the decade 
Mainstream AC itself has evolved in a similar fashion over the years; traditional AC artists such as Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, John Denver, and Olivia Newton-John found it harder to have major Top 40 hits as the 1980s wore on, and due to the influence of MTV, artists who were staples of the Contemporary Hit Radio format, such as Richard Marx, Michael Jackson, Bonnie Tyler, George Michael, Phil Collins, Laura Branigan and Journey began crossing over to the AC charts with greater frequency  Collins has been described by AllMusic as "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond"  However, with the combination of MTV and AC radio, adult contemporary appeared harder to define as a genre, with established soft-rock artists of the past still charting pop hits and receiving airplay alongside mainstream radio fare from newer artists at the time 
The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners  Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio 
Although dance-oriented, electronic pop and ballad-oriented rock dominated the 1980s, soft rock songs still enjoyed a mild success thanks to Sheena Easton, Amy Grant, Lionel Richie, Christopher Cross, Dan Hill, Leo Sayer, Billy Ocean, Julio Iglesias, Bertie Higgins, and Tommy Page  No song spent more than six weeks at No  1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat  Two of these were by Lionel Richie, "You Are" in 1983 and "Hello" in 1984, which also reached No  1 on the Hot 100 
In 1989, Linda Ronstadt released Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, described by critics as "the first true Adult Contemporary album of the decade", featuring American soul singer Aaron Neville on several of the twelve tracks  The album was certified Triple Platinum in the United States alone and became a major success throughout the globe  The Grammy Award-winning singles, "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life", were both long-running No  1 Adult Contemporary hits  Several additional singles from the disc made the AC Top 10 as well  The album won over many critics in the need to define AC, and appeared to change the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day to day radio play 

1990s: Subgenre formations/radio crossovers
The early 1990s marked the softening of urban R&B in the shape of new jack swing, at the same time alternative rock emerged and traditional pop saw a significant resurgence  This in part led to a widening of the market, not only allowing to cater to more niche markets, but it also became customary for artists to make AC-friendly singles  At the same time, the genre began adopting elements from hard rock as tastes were shifting towards louder music, while AC stations in general began playing more rock acts  "Softer" features such as light instrumental music (carried over from the beautiful music format—many AC stations carried the format until the early 1970s), new age songs and most pre-1964 artists were gradually phased out from AC radio throughout the early to mid-1990s 
Unlike the majority of 1980s mainstream singers, the 1990s mainstream pop/R&B singers such as All-4-One, Boyz II Men, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys and Savage Garden generally crossed over to the AC charts  Latin pop artists such as Lynda Thomas, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Selena, Enrique Iglesias and Luis Miguel also enjoyed success in the AC charts 
In addition to Celine Dion, who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones on the AC chart in the 1990s include Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams, Whitney Houston and Shania Twain  Newer female Adult album alternative singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow also broke through on the AC chart during this time In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40, which reflects programming on radio stations that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music  Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other  In addition, hot AC is another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart as it exists today, despite the apparent similarity in name 
In response to the pressure on Hot AC, a new kind of AC format cropped up among American radio recently  The urban adult contemporary format (a term coined by Barry Mayo) usually attracts a large number of African Americans and sometimes Caucasian listeners through playing a great deal of R&B (without any form of rapping), gospel music, classic soul and dance music (including disco) 
Another format, rhythmic AC, in addition to playing all the popular hot and soft AC music, past and present, places a heavy emphasis on disco as well as 1980s and 1990s dance hits, such as those by Amber, and Black Box, and includes dance remixes of pop songs, such as the Soul Solution mix of Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart" 
In its early years of existence, the smooth jazz format was considered to be a form of AC, although it was mainly instrumental, and related a stronger resemblance to the soft AC-styled music  For many years, George Benson, Kenny G and Dave Koz had all had crossover hits that were played on both smooth jazz and soft AC stations 

2000s–present: AC music goes mainstream and mainstream music goes AC
During the 2000s, the AC market gained an increased presence in the music industry, as its radio formats were popular nationwide—Smooth jazz and "Urban AC" stations were ubiquitous in the East Coast, while Soft rock and "adult standards" stations were common in the Midwest, and pop-oriented "Hot AC" and "world music"/Hispanic AC stations were easily found in the West Coast and the "Sun Belt"  This led to the presence of numerous genres on the AC charts, often crossing to the "pop" charts, winning over many critics in the need to define AC, and increased the tolerance and acceptance of AC music into mainstream day-to-day radio play 
Josh Groban's single "You Raise Me Up" and Michael Bublé's cover of "Fever" are often cited as key examples of the high production values and ballad-heavy sound that defined 2000s-era AC, often dubbed as "jazz-pop", heavily carrying classical, jazz and traditional pop influences  Artists such as Nick Lachey, James Blunt, Jamie Cullum, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Amy Winehouse and Susan Boyle also achieved great success during this period  During most of the 2000s, country music/countrypolitan musicians such as Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood scored hits on soft AC, particularly in Southern states  A popular trend in the late 1990s and 2000s was remixing dance music hits into adult contemporary ballads, especially in the US, (for example, the "Candlelight Mix" versions of "Heaven" by DJ Sammy, "Listen To Your Heart" by D H T , and "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada) 
Key to the success of AC in the 2000s was the 25–34 demographic which had outgrown the pop music offerings of the time, most new rock became too alternative and harsh for AC radio and most new pop was now influenced heavily by dance-pop, hip-hop and electronic dance music  At the same time, the music industry also began to focus on older audiences and markets generally considered "niche" 
During the late 2000s, certain pop songs began entering the AC charts instead, generally after having recently fallen off the Hot 100  Adrian Moreira, senior vice president for adult music for RCA Music Group, said, "We've seen a fairly tidal shift in what AC will play"  Rather than emphasizing older songs, adult contemporary now began playing many of the same songs as top 40 and adult top 40, but only after the hits had become established  An article on MTV's website by Corey Moss describes this trend as: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death  Or, to optimists, to get a second life " As adult contemporary has long characterized itself as family-friendly, "clean" versions of pop songs began appearing on the AC chart, as were the cases of "Perfect" by P!nk, and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, both in 2011 AC radio's shift into more mainstream pop was a result of the changes on the broadcasting landscape following the 2005–2007 economic downturn and eventual recession, as advertisers preferred more profitable chart-based formats, which meant the demise of many AC-based formulas, primarily those aimed at older audiences, with tastes changing towards more modern music among all age groups  Diminishing physical record sales throughout the 2010s also proved a major blow to the AC genre, and there are concerns that the portable people meter, a device being used to determine radio listenership, may be incompatible with AC songs and may not accurately pick up that a person is listening to an AC station because of the pitches and frequencies used in the style Key AC artists of the early to mid-2010s included Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Adele, Arcade Fire, Meghan Trainor, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran, featuring a more pop-influenced, uptempo style than the typical AC fare of previous years, also featuring production values reminiscent of the Motown sound and the so-called Wall of Sound that dominated the soul-heavy pop charts of the early 1960s, when the Easy Listening chart was first introduced  The earlier years of the decade also saw alternative and indie rock acts such as Wilco, Feist, The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons, Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers quickly becoming AC mainstays, although these were eventually replaced by rhythm-based rock bands such as Panic! at the Disco, Neon Trees, X Ambassadors, Sheppard, Bastille, American Authors, Fitz and the Tantrums, Foster the People, Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon and Milky Chance 
During the middle of the decade, newer artists such as CeeLo Green, OneRepublic, Rachel Platten, Christina Perri, Andy Grammer, James Bay, Sara Bareilles, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Sam Smith, Gavin Degraw, Charlie Puth and Colbie Caillat as well as acts that were popular in the 1990s and early 2000s such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were added to the rotation of most AC stations 
As trap music and similar styles of hip-hop began dominating top 40 stations during the last years of the 2010s, AC stations began picking up rhythmic artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Taio Cruz and Pitbull as well as EDM artists like Avicii, Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Tiesto  Meanwhile, younger artists like Camila Cabello, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas and the Jonas Brothers and Halsey began to be featured on AC stations more than on top 40 stations 

Adult contemporary formats
In radio broadcasting, adult contemporary is divided into several sub-formats, each with their own musical direction and demographic targeting  Hot adult contemporary formats generally feature an uptempo rotation of recent hits that appeal to a wide adult audience  A station formatted as "adult contemporary" with no qualifier, also referred to as "mainstream adult contemporary", generally has a similar playlist to hot AC stations, but with a broader rotation of classic hits from past decades Soft adult contemporary formats have a more conservative sound oriented primarily towards adult women, urban AC focuses on R&B and soul music that appeal to African American adults, and rhythmic AC focuses on dance music and other rhythmic genres 

Hot adult contemporary
Hot adult contemporary (hot AC) radio stations play a wide range of the present day's popular music that appeals towards the 18–54 age group; it serves as a middle ground between the youth-oriented contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, and adult contemporary formats (such as "mainstream" and soft AC) that are typically targeted towards a more mature demographic  They generally feature uptempo hit music with wide appeal, such as pop and pop rock songs, while excluding more youth-oriented music such as hip-hop  Recurrents usually reflect familiar and youthful music that adults had grown up with  Likewise, mature material from pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Pink have also been prominent within the format The "hot AC" designation began to appear in the 1990s, to describe adult contemporary stations with a more energetic presentation and uptempo sound than their softer counterparts  An early example of the format, Houston's KHMX Mix 96 5, climbed from 14th place in the market to 3rd in the six months after its launch  The station's format and branding was widely replicated by other stations  Many hot AC outlets are among the top stations in their respective market Initially focused more on pop rock, the format has evolved to reflect changes in the composition of this audience; by the mid-2000s, the format had evolved to include more uptempo pop music, while alternative and indie rock crossovers (such as Foster the People, Imagine Dragons, Lovelytheband, and Twenty One Pilots) became more prevalent within the format during the 2010s These developments helped to expand the popularity of the format among younger listeners such as millennials; Nielsen Audio ranked hot AC as the third most-popular format among millennials, behind pop and country music  Of the format's expanding demographic reach, WOMX-FM program director Dana Taylor stated that hot AC stations "may not be the radio station that everybody agrees on, but it's a radio station that everybody goes, 'I'm okay with that' " The increasingly downtempo direction of pop hits in the mid-to-late 2010's also helped to attract additional listeners Hot AC stations typically keep a larger body of recent hits in rotation than those with rigid, chart-driven formats like CHR and urban contemporary  As these stations' playlists have become concentrated towards airing only the current hits at a given time, hot AC airplay can build and sustain a song's popularity over a long-term period  This effect has been credited in helping build an audience for early singles from new acts such as Adele, Rachel Platten ("Fight Song", which gained prominence for its use during Hillary Clinton's 2016 US presidential election campaign), and Max Schneider (whose 2016 single "Lights Down Low", over a year after its original release, became a sleeper hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Hot 100 due in part to strong hot AC airplay) The popularity of the hot AC format prompted many mainstream AC stations to add uptempo music to their playlists, while still maintaining a deeper rotation of older hits than hot AC stations 

Modern adult contemporary
Modern adult contemporary refers to AC formats with a stronger lean towards modern rock and pop rock 
In the 1990s and early 2000s, modern AC was typically targeted towards women, with Mike Marino of KMXB in Las Vegas describing the format as reaching "an audience that has outgrown the edgier hip-hop or alternative music but hasn't gotten old and sappy enough for the soft ACs " The format typically focused on female rock acts such as Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Indigo Girls, Jewel, and Sarah McLachlan, and folk rock-influenced bands such as Counting Crows and The Wallflowers  Today, the format is fairly uncommon, with KTCZ in the Minnesota Twin Cities being one of the few modern AC stations left 

Soft adult contemporary
The Soft adult contemporary format typically targets women 25–54 and at-work listening  Soft AC playlists are generally conservative in comparison to hot AC, focusing on pop and power ballads, soft rock, and other familiar, light hits  Upon its establishment in the 1980s, the soft AC format was positioned as being a more upbeat version of easy listening that would appeal better to a younger audience, mainly by excluding instrumental beautiful music  Easy listening stations had begun shifting to the format out of concern that their existing programming would not appeal to the current generation of listeners In a 1990 article, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune characterized soft AC stations as being "as middle-of-the-road and unthreatening as modern media get", with personalities that were encouraged to be as inoffensive and "low-profile" as possible, and a more conservative music library than hot AC-leaning stations  In particular, Chicago's WLIT did not have its airstaff talk over the beginning and endings of songs (in contrast to the hot AC-leaning WFYR), and played Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonite" but not "Old Time Rock and Roll" (which was part of WTMX's playlist)  The director of a soft AC station in Connecticut, WEZN-FM, told Warren that he had barred the reading of top-of-hour news headlines, so that listeners wouldn't be tempted to tune away to an all-news station to learn more Soft AC stations tend to be more selective in their music libraries than other adult contemporary stations, preferring proven songs over current hits  Upon the onset of the format's popularity, core artists typically included singers such as Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Johnny Mathis, and Barbra Streisand  By the 1990s, to improve their appeal among changing demographics, some soft AC stations began to widen their playlist to include selections from contemporary acts with 80s, & 90s, musicians & bands such as Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Roxette, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Elton John, Cher, Whitney Houston, Journey, and Queen  On the other hand, by 1996, New York's WLTW had begun to phase out its softer music in favor of a more uptempo direction In 2017, Inside Radio reported that soft AC had the third-largest decrease in US stations offering the format over the past decade (at 128), ranking behind only adult standards and oldies—a shift credited to aging demographics and a major boom in the wider-appealing classic hits format (which saw the largest overall increase over the same period)  Consultant Gary Berkowitz argued that the soft AC format had become increasingly irrelevant in comparison to mainstream and hot AC, due to PPM markets preferring uptempo music At the same time, however, soft AC began to experience a resurgence  In April 2016, iHeartMedia flipped its San Francisco classic soul station KISQ to soft AC as The Breeze; as of November 2018, it was the top station in the Bay Area  The trend continued into 2017 and 2018, with iHeartMedia extending its Breeze brand to other soft AC flips, and the brand (among others) being adopted by competitors such as Entercom  Industry analyst Sean Ross argued that older demographics were becoming more lucrative due to changes in listening habits among younger audiences, which prefer digital platforms such as music streaming services over linear terrestrial radio, and also noted how mainstream AC was dependent on the Top 40 charts to break new songs Current soft AC stations have continued to feature recurrents such as Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, and Whitney Houston, while contemporary musicians such as Adele and Michael Bublé have also become modern fixtures of the format  In addition, the soft AC sound has diversified to include more songs that are "safe and universal" and not necessarily "soft", with Ross presenting Examples such as Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", as well as the retroactively-defined genre of yacht rock  Over time, some stations have gradually adjusted their playlists to include more recurrents from the 1980s and 1970s (although not to the same extent as other "soft oldies" formats, such as MeTV FM, which have also grown in popularity) 

Urban adult contemporary
The Urban adult contemporary format focuses primarily on current and classic R&B and soul music,  The format typically targets African-American adults: July 2018 numbers from Nielsen Audio recorded it as the top format among African-Americans 25–54 and 35–64  It also has a sizable popularity among younger listeners, ranking behind urban contemporary as the second-most popular format among African-American adults 18–34 in the same report, with an 18 9 audience share The format typically excludes youthful rhythmic music, such as commercial hip-hop and rap, that are usually associated with the urban contemporary format  The urban AC format is also associated with the "quiet storm"—mellower R&B ballads and slow jams, often in a jazz-influenced style  The syndicated evening program Keith Sweat Hotel focuses specifically on such music As urban contemporary stations prefer hit-driven hip-hop songs, labels typically service R&B songs to the urban AC format only  Some current R&B musicians have complained that this is an artificial divide that prevents them from reaching a wider, mainstream audience (citing the relatively smaller number of urban AC outlets in comparison to urban and rhythmic), even with attempts to give some singles a hip-hop-influenced sound to improve the potential for crossover appeal  Some acts have attempted to disassociate themselves from "R&B" to reduce the effect of this stigma, although streaming services have helped to expose R&B to a wider audience beyond urban AC radio 

Rhythmic adult contemporary
The Rhythmic adult contemporary format generally focuses on a variety of current and classic dance music, such as dance-pop, hip-hop, and R&B (often resembling a blend of the Classic hits and hot AC formats in practice)  The exact composition of current and recurrent content can vary between stations, depending on local cultures and the heritage of rhythmic formats in the market, ranging from late-80s/early-90s dance hits (including latin freestyle), to disco and Motown  Rhythmic hot AC has also been used as a format, popularized by stations such as New York's WKTU 

Smooth adult contemporary
The Smooth adult contemporary format is a variant of the smooth jazz format that incorporates mainstream and/or urban adult contemporary songs; they are designed to appeal to a wider range of demographics than a straight smooth jazz format  Some smooth AC stations may limit their airplay of jazz instrumentals to those by better-known performers such as Kenny G 

Christian adult contemporary
Contemporary Christian music (CCM) has several subgenres, one being "Christian AC"  Radio & Records, for instance, lists Christian AC among its format charts  There has been crossover to mainstream and hot AC formats by many of the core artists of the Christian AC genre, notably Amy Grant, Michael W  Smith, Kathy Troccoli, Steven Curtis Chapman, Plumb, and more recently Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, For King & Country, Lauren Daigle, MercyMe, and Newsboys 

Adult album alternative
The Adult album alternative (triple-A or AAA) format generally features a diverse playlist of music that appeals to an adult audience, with a focus on emerging songs and artists, and often featuring songs that were not released as singles  The exact composition of a triple-A station's playlist can vary, with alternative rock, indie rock, and indie pop commonly used as core genres, and some stations featuring more uncommon genres such as alternative country, Americana, blues, folk music, and world music  NPR observed in 2018 that roughly half of all triple-A stations in the U S  were non-commercial stations  With the wide variety of music that is serviced to the format, adult album alternative charts have often served as a feeder for the Adult Top 40, and have been credited for breaking acts such as Dave Matthews Band and Lorde 

Christmas music
Since the 1990s it has become common for many AC stations, particularly soft AC stations, to play primarily or exclusively Christmas music during the Christmas season in November and December  While these tend mostly to be contemporary seasonal recordings by the same artists featured under the normal format, most stations will also air at least some vintage holiday tunes from older pop, MOR, and adult standards artists – such as  
Boney M , The Carpenters, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Percy Faith, Mannheim Steamroller, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Andy Williams – many of whom would never be played on these stations during the rest of the year 
These Christmas music marathons typically start a few weeks before Thanksgiving Day and end after Christmas Day, or sometimes extending to New Year's Day  Afterwards, the stations usually resume their normal music fare  Several stations begin the holiday format much earlier, at the beginning of November especially after Halloween  The roots of this tradition can be traced back to the beautiful music and easy listening stations of the 1960s and 1970s 

Syndicated radio shows and networks carrying the adult contemporary format
Delilah – One of the US's most popular radio shows, Delilah airs primarily in the evening  Its Christmas Edition airs from mid-November to late December 
Intelligence for Your Life – Hosted by John Tesh, this show also airs evenings and also on weekends 
American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest – One version of AT40 airs on US hot AC stations, which is a little different from its Top-40/CHR counterpart 
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40/Weekly Top 30 – Began offering Hot AC versions of the popular countdown show in June 1996  These shows feature the top 20 Hot AC songs in the US along with about 10 past hits from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s (decade)  A softer "AC" version was added in July 2009 to try to fill in the void left by Casey Kasem ending his AC countdown 
Radio Disney Music Top 30 Countdown, One version is for Hot AC stations, the other version is for Mainstream AC stations  Plays the USA Top 30 songs of the week according to Mediabase and a music rating service called ratethemusic com  This show, like Rick Dees' show, is distributed by Compass Media Networks 
Backtrax USA with Kid Kelly – Weekend programs focusing on the '80s and '90s, targeted for hot AC stations 
ABC and Dial Global both offer AC 24-hour networks programming soft and hot AC 
Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey have popular morning shows that air on urban AC (and sometimes Hip-Hop) stations  Both shows are often heard on competing stations in the same city, such as St  Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta  Joyner's show is syndicated by ABC Radio, and Harvey's show by Premiere Radio Networks 
Retro Rewind with Dave Harris is a weekend-based radio show highlighting a massive playlist of songs from the 1980s and 1990s, interviews, spotlights and contests  The show is done live across the US on Saturday nights, taking audience requests  The show is targeted towards HOT AC and AC radio stations 
The EZ Rock network is a brand/network of soft AC heard in Canada 
Heart - A radio network in the UK that grew throughout 2009 as more stations were rebranded as "Heart" 
Smooth Radio – A UK-wide radio network that formed from six regional Smooth Radio stations 
Smoothfm – A network of two Australian commercial radio stations (based in Sydney and Melbourne) that are focused on providing an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually featuring ballads 
Nova – A network of five Australian commercial radio station (based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) that are very similar to Smoothfm 
The Breeze – A group of New Zealand adult contemporary radio stations owned by MediaWorks Radio  There are 20 stations currently broadcasting throughout New Zealand 
The Bob and Sheri Show – American morning drive show based in Charlotte, North Carolina  Heard on more than 50 AC stations and the American Forces NetworkFormer syndicated programming includes Dick Clark's US Music Survey (1996–2005), Casey's Hot 20/Casey's Countdown/American Top 20/10 (1992–2009) and Top 30 USA 

See also
Adult Contemporary, a chart appearing in Billboard since 1961  This chart is typically (but not exclusively) closer to soft AC 
New-age music
Yacht rock



ground_truth: Michael Bublé