Johannesburg, 21 Aug 2012
Satellite service provider Intelsat successfully launched Intelsat 21, the fourth of its five planned launches for 2012.
The satellite was launched on Sunday from a mobile platform on a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL launch vehicle, in the Pacific Ocean. Signal acquisition occurred about an hour after launch.
Intelsat 21 will serve direct-to-home and cable programmers in Latin America. It replaces Intelsat 9 and is designed to provide more than 18 years of service.
The satellite features C-band services for South America, North America and Europe, and Ku-band services for North America, the Caribbean, Brazil, Europe and Western Africa.
It also features a Ku-band mobility beam, providing coverage across the South Atlantic to Intelsat's maritime and aeronautical customers. Intelsat's global broadband mobility platform is scheduled for completion in early 2013. The satellite's final orbital location will be 302 East.
"Intelsat 21 will refresh capacity for Latin America's premier video neighborhood and will offer vital communications services spanning four continents," says Intelsat CEO David McGlade. "In addition, Intelsat 21 continues deployment of Intelsat's Ku-band global broadband mobility platform, designed to support the rapid growth in demand for broadband connectivity for maritime and aeronautical applications."
Intelsat 21 is the fourth of five Intelsat launches planned for 2012. Intelsat 23 is scheduled for launch later this year aboard a Proton launch vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In March, the company launched Intelsat 22 from Kazakhstan.
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