Intelsat (NYSE: I) has selected Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR) to manufacture Intelsat 40e, a next-generation, geostationary, communications satellite scheduled to launch in 2022 — Maxar will integrate NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) payload with the Intelsat 40e satellite.
Based on Maxar’s proven 1300-class satellite platform and Intelsat Epic, Intelsat 40e will provide Intelsat customers across North and Central America with flexible, high-throughput, “coast-to-coast” coverage. The additional capacity will also support the growing number of customers using Intelsat managed-service offerings, including those working with Intelsat to solve connectivity challenges for commercial and private planes, moving vehicles on land and other mobility applications.
Artistic rendition of Intelsat's TEMPO payload. Image is courtesy of Maxar.
In 2019, NASA selected Maxar to host its TEMPO payload using the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) contract vehicle. Now that Maxar has identified Intelsat 40e as the satellite, the company will begin the integration process.
TEMPO is a UV-visible spectrometer that will detect pollutants by measuring sunlight reflected and scattered from the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The resulting data from TEMPO will be used to enhance air-quality forecasts in North America, enabling the more effective early public warning of pollution incidents.
The combined Intelsat 40e and TEMPO programs are expected to be accretive to Maxar’s earnings and cash flow on an annual basis throughout the production process.
Intelsat CEO, Stephen Spengler, said that when this satellite is launched, Intelsat 40e will be the newest addition to the company's next-generation Intelsat Epic platform, which is already providing global customers with flexible, high-performance connectivity they can count on today – and in the future. Intelsat continuously invests in innovative new satellite and hybrid technologies that make it easy and affordable for our customers to connect people, devices and networks, even in the most remote locations.
Maxar CEO, Dan Jablonsky, added that Maxar and Intelsat have a strategic partnership that goes back more than 40 years and the company is honored to have been selected for Intelsat 40e – the 54th satellite that Maxar will build for Intelsat over the course of the long and successful history together. Maxar is also honored to have collaborated with NASA for more than 50 years and the firm is excited to leverage the company's strong legacy in bridging commercial and government needs to integrate the agency’s TEMPO payload with Intelsat 40e. Maxar’s recent work with NASA on TEMPO and several other Space Infrastructure missions demonstrate positive momentum for this expanding civil space portfolio.
