Artistic rendition of the Mexsat-3 satellite,
courtesy of Orbital Sciences...
The Mexican government’s communications and transport administration, Secretara de Comunicaciones y Transportes, has awarded a contract to Arianespace to launch the country’s new Mexsat 3 telecommunications satellite. Mexsat 3 will be placed into geostationary transfer orbit in late 2012 by an Ariane 5 or Soyuz launcher from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Mexsat 3 will be built by U.S. satellite manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation. With a mass at liftoff of nearly 3,050 kg, it will carry extended C- and Ku-band transponders. The satellite will provide nexgen communications services throughout the country from its 114.9 degree West orbital slot. Mexsat 3 will have an in-orbit lifetime of over 15 years.