SS/L a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications has built nine high-capacity Telstar satellites, which reach more than 85 percent of the populated world. The fixed-satellite services, broadband-satellite services, and direct broadcast services provided by the satellites, are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from cable and direct-to-home television to Internet applications, to news gathering, distance learning, business TV, and telephony. SS/L-built Telstar satellites began launching in 1997
“Telstar 14R is the fifth satellite that we will add to our backlog this year, and it demonstrates the versatility of our satellite platform,” said John Celli, president and chief operating officer of Space Systems/Loral. “The satellite’s five beams and reconfigurable transponder capacity will enable Telesat to address growing demand for broadband and video services in the Americas, and to match satellite capacity to market need.”
Space Systems/Loral designed Telstar 14R with five antenna beams that have high-power transponders with substantial on-orbit switching capability. The satellite will provide additional capacity and improved capabilities in its coverage areas, which include: Brazil, the Continental United States (including the Gulf of Mexico and northern Caribbean), the Southern Cone of South America, the Andean region (including Central America and southern Caribbean), and the North and Mid-Atlantic Ocean.
“The flexibility and high transponder power of the Space Systems/Loral 1300 satellite bus is ideal to meet the growing demand for Ku-band services throughout the Americas and over the Atlantic Ocean Region,” said Dan Goldberg, president and chief executive officer of Telesat. “Space Systems/Loral is on track for an early delivery on the ground of our Nimiq 5 satellite and did an exceptional job on the recently launched Telstar 11N satellite. As a result, I am confident that SS/L, working with the Telesat team, will deliver successfully on the Telstar 14R program.”
The new Ku-band satellite will replace Telstar 14 at its 63 degrees West orbital location and will have 46 active transponders, of which 27 will be fixed and 19 will be switchable. Telstar 14R is based on the SS/L 1300 platform, which has a long history of reliability and the flexibility for a broad range of applications. Scheduled for launch in the second half of 2011, the satellite is designed to provide service for 15 years or more.
