Certainly is a great feeling when a launch goes as planned… just ask Intelsat, Ltd., whose Intelsat 11 satellite, and Optus’ for their D2 satellite, were successfully launched aboard Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket at 6:02 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 5th from the Spaceport in French Guiana. The Intelsat 11 satellite packs a payload of 25 C- and 18 ku-band transponders for content broadcasting in the Americas and Europe.
Intelsat 11, which was released approximately 28 minutes after liftoff, should enter service during Q4 of this year and will, eventually, replace the company’s 6B and 3R spacecraft. Customer transitioning should occur once the in-orbit tests have been completed. The satellite has a life expectancy of 16 years. Intelsat 11 will operate from 317° E. The Optus D2 was deployed 32 minutes after liftoff and will make its home at 152° E. This puppy is going to join the Australian fleet of comsats run by telecom provider Optus. Both of these satellites were built using the STAR 2 platform from Orbital Sciences Corporation (Dulles, Virginia).
Intelsat, Ltd. CEO David McGlade stated, “Intelsat 11 is an extremely important satellite for us and for our video customers. The increase of regional DTH services is a major catalyst for industry growth, and this orbital location is one of the largest of the 27 DTH platforms we host worldwide.” The Optus launch was the fourth by Arianespace for the Australian customer with Optus D3 planned for 2009. And for Intelsat, this is Arianespace’s record 47th satellite launch—Pembroke, Bermuda
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