ITV To Use GlobeCast Australia For Reality Show

Intelsat's IS-15 will be used for send and receive transmissions, via connectivity to GlobeCast Australia’s international network of fibre and satellites for “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” for Britain’s ITV.

GlobeCast Australia also used IS-9 and IS-805 from location in Costa Rica earlier this year to transmit a live show for America’s NBC.

[Read the full article]

Thor 6 takes flight in Kourou

Thor 6 takes flight in Kourou | Broadband TV News

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Africa urged to pay more attention to broadband access

Intelsat's Regional Vice-President for Africa - Flavien Bachabi emphasised "As the African continent sought to bridge the communications ‘digital divide’, it should be cautious not to fall into an even deeper gap – the broadband access gap".

[Read the full article]

Bandwidth demand will stoke Intelsat General growth

Company president seeks to expand federal offerings

Intelsat General Corp. is seeking a wider orbit within the federal market universe by jettisoning its reputation as a global satellite company and making a name for itself as a total communications solutions provider.

[Read the full article]

3 by 3 by 3 by 3 by 3 in 31 Days

Three satellites.

Three spacecraft manufacturers.

Three launch vehicles.

Three continents.

Three launches.

The Space Systems group at Intelsat is particularly busy in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Intelsat staff are supporting an unprecedented three launches, of three satellites, built by three different spacecraft manufacturers, on three different launch vehicles, from three different continents!

The three satellites are the THOR 6, Intelsat 14 (with the IRIS payload) and the Intelsat 15. The three spacecraft manufacturers are Thales Alenia Space, Space Systems/Loral and Orbital Sciences Corporation. The three launch vehicles – the rockets – are the Ariane 5, Atlas V and a Land Launch Zenit. The three continents from where they’ll be launched are South America, North America and Asia, respectively. The three launches are scheduled for Thursday, 29 October; Saturday, 14 November; and Sunday, 29 November, respectively.

Intelsat Space Systems staff members are currently located at all three launch bases, Kourou, French Guiana, (THOR 6); Cape Canaveral, Florida, (Intelsat 14); and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (Intelsat 15), to support the final preparations of the satellites prior to their imminent launch.

While Intelsat has been involved with nearly 120 satellite launches throughout the last 40-plus years, never have we been supporting three launches within a month.

The THOR 6 launch campaign is reaching its final stage. The satellite has completed its standalone testing, has been fueled, encapsulated and has been placed on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The Ariane 5, Arianespace’s “heavy lifter,” is capable of delivering multiple satellites to geosynchronous transfer orbit, nearly simultaneously. THOR 6 will ride in the lower Ariane 5 position, with the NSS-12 satellite riding the top position. All systems are “go for a launch” on October 29th. The launch window opens at 3:00 p.m. EST. THOR 6 is a Telenor satellite on which Intelsat has purchased 10 transponders.

(Photo: Thales and Telenor teams in front of the THOR 6 satellite)

The Intelsat 14 satellite launch campaign has reached the half-way point. The satellite’s standalone testing has been completed, it’s been fueled and is ready to be placed on top of the Atlas V launch vehicle. The launch window opens at 1:48 a.m. EST on Saturday, November 14th.

(Photo: Intelsat 14 logo on the Atlas V rocket fairing)

Meanwhile, the Intelsat 15 satellite launch campaign just got underway with the satellite being trucked to Dulles International Airport on Sunday, 25 October. The satellite is scheduled to complete standalone testing and fueling by mid-November in preparation for launch on Sunday, 29 November. Its launch window opens at 4:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo, below: Intelsat 15 satellite prior to shipment to Baikonur)

All three satellites combined are a total launch mass of nearly 12 tons and will provide capacity of 54 Ku-band transponders and 40 C-band transponders to the Intelsat fleet.

The Space Systems group’s work does not end once the satellites are launched. The staff also supports the critical orbit-raising and in-orbit-test activities that take place for approximately six weeks following each launch. Those activities will be managed from the Intelsat Control Center in Washington, D.C., the Orbital Sciences Corporation Control Center in Dulles, Virginia, and from the Thales Control Center in Cannes, France.

This will be a very busy end-of-year for Intelsat staff…all of that before we kick off 2010 with another launch out of Baikonur on a Proton rocket – the Intelsat 16 satellite – but that’s another story...

~ Contributed by Jean-Luc Froeliger, Senior Director, Space Systems Acquisition, Intelsat

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THOR 6 to Grow 1º West for Intelsat

While busy preparing for the November 2009 launches of the Intelsat 14 and Intelsat 15 satellites, on an Atlas V rocket (from Cape Canaveral, Florida) and a Land Launch Zenit rocket (from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan), respectively, Intelsat is involved with a third launch, also slated for the fourth quarter of 2009.

The THOR 6 satellite will blastoff on Thursday, 29 October aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. In September 2007, Intelsat contracted with Telenor to procure 10 Ku-band transponders on the THOR 6 satellite, which will be operated at 0.8º West, providing capacity for Intelsat’s 1º West customers.

(Photo: THOR 6 undergoing adapter fit check)

This Transponder Purchase Agreement (TPA) is a continuation of long-standing cooperation between Intelsat and Telenor. This agreement with Telenor allows us to add incremental capacity over Europe without the investment associated with a standalone satellite procurement.

In 2001, Telenor contracted with Intelsat to procure seven transponders on the Intelsat 10-02 (IS-10-02) satellite, at that time under construction at EADS-Astrium. The IS-10-02 was successfully launched in June 2004 from Baikonur, where a joint Intelsat-Telenor delegation watched the satellite liftoff aboard a Proton rocket against a pitch-black pre-dawn sky.

(Photo: foreground, Intelsat/Telenor delegation on Launch Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, June 2004; background, Proton rocket carrying the Intelsat 10-02 satellite ready for launch)

Intelsat has been monitoring the construction of the THOR 6 satellite in France for two years, both in Toulouse, where the Communications Module was integrated and tested, and in Cannes, where the satellite underwent final assembly and testing. Rick Laurie, who was already in Cannes to monitor the construction of the Galaxy 17 satellite, had his residency extended to support Telenor and oversee the construction of THOR 6.

THOR 6, built by Thales Alenia Space, is a Spacebus 4000B2 satellite carrying a total of 36 Ku-band transponders, in 33 MHz equivalents, for coverage of Europe.

The satellite is currently in Kourou, French Guiana, for final processing prior to launch. THOR 6 completed all electrical checks and further processing is proceeding nominally toward a launch on Thursday, 29 October. The satellite weighs 1,255 kg dry, and 3,000 kg wet, with propellant loaded.

(Photo: THOR 6 satellite being weighed)

Once launched from French Guiana, the satellite will be controlled by the Thales Mission Control Center in Cannes, which will execute the required maneuvers to raise the satellite to geostationary altitude. These maneuvers will be supported by the Intelsat Ground Station Network.

Following the standard in-orbit tests (IOT), the satellite is expected to be placed into service before the end of the year, adding an additional 10 transponders of capacity to our fleet that will be available for our European customers. The THOR 6 satellite complements our capacity at 1º West to ensure that we have growth capacity for our customers already at that orbital location. Pre-commit campaigns are underway and are expected to be quite successful.

~ Contributed by Jean-Luc Froeliger, Senior Director, Space Systems Acquisition, Intelsat

Pondering Cape Canaveral, Launch Site of the Intelsat 14 Satellite

If you haven’t seen Cape Canaveral, it is an impressive place. But, you have to be interested enough to peer beneath the scrubby surface to understand its contributions to humankind. The history of the U.S. space program, as well as the strategic missile program, is embedded in the weeds here. Most of the more than 40 launch pads have been decommissioned and abandoned to the savannah, through which wild pigs, armadillos and alligators roam.

In its heyday, “Missile Row” at the Cape must have been a busy place. Today, there’s a decrepit Air Force museum at one of the old Mercury launch pads and a full-size mockup of a rocket that carried Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut in space, is on display. The rocket is almost incomprehensibly small compared to today’s launchers. The men who climbed into those capsules had great faith and courage.

The area of the launch pads is surrounded by the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a huge brackish estuary with meandering channels, islands, mangrove hammocks and the occasional levee that you can drive upon to observe the wildlife. Some of the nicest deserted Atlantic beaches grace the oceanfront.

The Intelsat 14 satellite launch campaign's Atlas Wet Dress Rehearsal is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 28 October.

(Photos: top, Launch Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral; bottom, launch pads of Cape Canaveral)

~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Will Satellites Play a Role after 2015?

Will satellites play a role in transmitting media and entertainment after 2015? Absolutely. But the content providers and distributors speaking at SATCON 2009 stressed that resilience within a transmission infrastructure is of utmost importance, especially as market demand increases, and particularly in emerging regions such as Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Barbara Jaffe, Senior Vice President, Advanced Technology and Operations, HBO, stressed that a large, global fleet can provide the critical resilience needed. "Restoration equals confidence for us, so satellite's resilience is very important as we expand into new markets that are driving our revenues."

"We work with our customers to ensure we are planning for their future needs, not only in delivering their applications into strategic regions, but making sure we have a robust network in place to ensure seamless transmission services, especially as our customers expand their offerings around the world," said Kurt Riegelman, Intelsat Senior Vice President, Global Sales.

Intelsat's Phil Spector, Executive Vice President, Business Development, & General Counsel, was a panelist at today's keynote session, "The State of the Satellite Industry: A View from the Top," and Kay Sears, President, Intelsat General Corporation, moderated a panel titled, "Satellite Technologies that Drive Bandwidth Efficiencies and Meet Near Term Needs."

(Jaffe and Riegelman made their remarks during their panel session, "Satellite Planning for Media & Entertainment—Where Will We Be in 2015" at SATCON 2009.)

~Contributed by Nick Mitsis, Manager, Media Communications, Intelsat, blogging from SATCON 2009 in New York City

Rocky Mountain Sports for Millions Via Galaxy 17

Intelsat's 45-year history is splattered with bringing sports programming to fans around the world. We've carried every Olympic Games since 1968, as well as historic coverage of the World Cup, Wimbledon, Tour de France, Formula-1, NASCAR and much more!

Continuing what some might consider Intelsat’s "tradition" of carrying sports programming, utilizing capacity on Intelsat’s Galaxy 17 satellite, Altitude Sports & Entertainment has entered a multi-year contract for Intelsat to broadcast regional hockey, basketball, lacrosse and soccer to millions of sports fans. Altitude is among the most watched regional sports networks in the 10-state Rocky Mountain Region. It's the official broadcaster of the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Mammoth (National Lacrosse League) and Colorado Rapids (MLS). Many college sports in the Big 12, Big Sky and Big East conferences are also carried on the network. In addition, Altitude offers music and theatrical programming, as well as boxing, rodeo, auto racing, golf, skiing and extreme sports.

[full news release]

Intelsat 14 Satellite Encapsulated

The payload fairing halves were drawn together around the Intelsat 14 satellite this morning - the satellite will never be seen by human eyes again.

Inspectors watched carefully to ensure clearances were maintained and many photographs were taken throughout the operation. After the encapsulation was complete, Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) rang up the spacecraft using the antenna inside the fairing (the “re-rad” horn), to verify continued communication capability. Everything has progressed smoothly.

Today and tomorrow, United Launch Alliance (ULA) will finish installing all the fairing separation system hardware and will prepare the encapsulated spacecraft for transportation to the launch pad. The transfer is slated to take place on Monday, 2 November. The Intelsat 14 satellite launch has to wait for the ULA staff to return from the Western Range at Vandenberg, California, where they are busy next week launching a weather satellite for the U.S. Government. Hopefully that launch won’t affect our scheduled launch date in mid-November.


~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Intelsat CEO McGlade Makes Space News’ 2009 Top 10 List

Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Dave McGlade was featured in the 31 August 2009 edition of Space News as one of 10 Who Made a Difference in Space. Annually, the Editors of Space News select noted individuals from the world of politics, private industry and public agencies who have made a difference in space industry developments.

Most notably, McGlade was recognized for helping Boeing Satellite Systems "introduce a new line of communications satellites to the market." Space News also honored McGlade for keeping Intelsat in the forefront of efforts to encourage government organizations, especially the U.S. Defense Department, to continue building stronger relationships with the commercial sector and to place dedicated payloads aboard commercial satellites. The nomination highlighted the Intelsat 14 satellite, which will carry the Pentagon’s Internet Router in Space (IRIS), and the Intelsat 22 satellite, which will carry a UHF payload for the Australian Defence Force.

Overall, the editors agreed that McGlade was one of a handful of business leaders this year who are "making big things happen, and not just for their own companies."

Other notable honorees making the list included U.S. President Barack Obama; U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair; Space Exploration Technologies Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer Elon Musk; and Globalstar Executive Chairman Jay Monroe.

[read more in Space News]

SS/L and ULA Begin Combined Operations on IS-14

Yesterday, Monday, October 12th, was a major milestone in the Intelsat 14 satellite campaign. Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) started combined operations with the installation of the fueled spacecraft onto the launch vehicle adaptor. The operation went very well.

The clamp band that attaches them together was tensioned to flight levels. This clamp band holds the satellite to the upper stage throughout the launch and is released (via exploding bolts) when the Atlas booster and Centaur upper stage have successfully injected our satellite into the proper geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

We also weighed the spacecraft. Fully loaded, it weighs 5614.0 kg, of which 3140.1 kg are the bi-propellants, 2468.6 kg is the dry mass, and 5.3 kg is helium.

The satellite was then transferred to a transport wagon, on which the satellite will be prepared for encapsulation in the payload fairing halves today.

As I watched, the SS/L technicians removed heavy metal lift fittings from the corners of the spacecraft body. These are no longer needed because the attachment points for all remaining lifts of the satellite will be to Atlas ground handling equipment. Also no longer needed are the red protective covers, which have been installed on the thrusters for so long, I think of thrusters as red. They actually have a matte coated-metal finish. These tiny station-keeping engines are indeed impressive; the giant nozzles on the business end of the Atlas core stage are poised for unimaginable violence.

~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Oxidizer Loaded on the Intelsat 14 Satellite

Oxidizer was loaded on the Intelsat 14 satellite on Friday, 9 October - precisely 1,949.8 kg.

It’s important to get the mass of propellants exactly right for a number of reasons. Together, the two components of the propellants make up more than half the mass of the satellite at launch. The numbers are used by the launch service provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), to plug into their trajectory analyses to come up with an optimum set of parameters to load into the guidance software of the Atlas V rocket. The end goal is to drop the Intelsat 14 satellite exactly where we need it to be in space to garner the longest possible spacecraft lifetime.

The propulsion technicians from Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), in their bizarre-looking SCAPE suits – aka Self Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble, finished the oxidizer loading without spilling a trace. This oxidizer nitrogen tetroxide, supercharged with 3% NO, is a highly corrosive brown substance similar to red-fuming nitric acid, and it can eat through concrete. The vapors are extremely toxic, and that’s why the protective suits with external breathing lines are worn by the technicians. These are not your ordinary petrol-station attendants.

Today, they moved the equipment containing the fuel for tomorrow’s load into the high bay and positioned it near the Intelsat 14 satellite. It's necessary to keep the bi-propellant components scrupulously separate, because they are hypergolic - they explode with a fury when they come into contact with one another. The fuel is monomethyl hydrazine, which is colorless and has an odor some say is similar to rotten fish mixed with ammonia. It is highly flammable, as well as toxic, so the technicians will again dress in SCAPE suits when they conduct the fuel loading operation.

(Photo: Video monitoring of Oxidizer loading operation)

~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida

2way2sat via Intelsat 10-02

atrexx Ltd. & Co. KG, a leading satellite service provider based in Germany, is offering 2way2sat services over the Intelsat 10-02 satellite in C-Band to tropical regions, especially to Africa, where rain attenuation often presents a problem.

The Intelsat 10-02 boasts very strong C-Band coverage over all of Europe, the entire African Continent and the Middle East and comprises 45 C-Band transponders.

The key advantage for customers is that there is no requirement to invest in any new equipment when opting for 2way2sat via Intelsat 10-02.

[Read the full press-release]

KT Corporation Secures Pre-launch Capacity on Intelsat 17

Intelsat, the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced that KT Corporation, Korea’s leading communications service provider, signed a multi-year, pre-launch contract for capacity on the Intelsat 17 satellite (IS-17). KT Corporation expects to use the IS-17 capacity to deliver enhanced broadband VSAT services to its government and enterprise customers with remote operations in other parts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“We will benefit from IS-17’s broad, inter-regional coverage, along with the high reliability and resilience for which the Intelsat network is well known, as we expand our business into developing regions,” said Yeong-Mo Kwon, KT Corporation’s Vice President, Network Group. “Our customers' bandwidth requirements are projected to ... [read news release]

Orbital Debris Cleanup

Wanted: Common Formats and Protocols

Space is getting crowded! Especially in the equatorial geosynchronous belt. There's definite need for better communication between satellite operators and for all to use common formats and protocols to more accurately compute, and detect, spacecraft close approaches.

At the moment, according to Joe Chan, Senior Manager, Flight Dynamics, Intelsat, "Our most comprehensive source" for knowing the whereabouts of space objects, man-made and naturally occurring, is a computer-generated two-line element set of orbital information such as those provided by the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is also used by NASA. But there are "large uncertainties" with this kind of data.

"We don't have a warp drive [on our satellites] like on Star Trek," Chan said. "We would like to detect close approaches a few days in advance."

[Read the full article]

Intelsat 14 Launch Readiness Review

The Intelsat 14 satellite Launch Readiness Review (LLR), Part 1, was held Monday, 5 October, between Intelsat representatives and Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). The purpose of this meeting is to review the activities and test results following the shipment of the Intelsat 14 satellite to its launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and to verify that all paperwork associated with the satellite from its almost three years of design, fabrication and testing has been satisfactorily closed out.

A successful conclusion from this meeting is consent to load propellants onto the onboard tanks. Once the tanks are loaded, any work on or around the satellite becomes a hazardous operation.

An additional day of preparations is needed before we are ready to begin loading propellants, which will start on Thursday, 8 October, with oxidizer.

The “dry” mass of the satellite was measured today, and compared within approximately 1% of the SS/L-predicted dry mass. The final measured values will be plugged into calculations to arrive at the exact total quantities of oxidizer and fuel that will be loaded later this week.

Part 2 of the LRR will be held after loading to confirm the “wet” mass, and to ensure that everything is ready to begin joint operations with the Atlas V launcher.

~ Contributed by Daniel Lilienstein, Intelsat 14 Program Manager, Space Systems Acquisition, blogging from Cape Canaveral, Florida

Intelsat sees mixed focus as key to its future

FSS provider targets new mobility services, but fixed services still set to generate more growth.

Dianne VanBeber, VP of investor relations and communications at Intelsat, speaking to Anne Morris, Total Telecom, at ITU Telecom World in Geneva

[Read the full article]

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Addressed Heads of State at Intelsat-sponsored Geneva Event

Mr. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations (UN) addressed Heads of State at a special dinner held on Sunday, 4 October 2009, at the Grand Theatre Geneva. In his remarks, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recognized the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Intelsat in their commitment to developing information and communication technologies (ICT). Mr. Secretary General Ki-moon indicated telecommunications has a major role in addressing worldwide issues - from global warming and cyber security to regional conflicts. Intelsat Chairman, Mr. Raymond Svider, in his remarks to the audience, recognized the ITU’s commitment to “Connecting the World” and Intelsat’s 45-year legacy of advancing communications throughout the world.

Dr. Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary General, thanked Intelsat for its continued commitment and support of the ITU’s mission to overcome the digital divide. The dinner, sponsored by Intelsat, was attended by Intelsat Chairman, Secretary General United Nations, Secretary General ITU, President of Rwanda, Vice President and First Lady of Lesotho, Vice President, Sierra Leone, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Switzerland, Ministers from Swaziland, Uganda, and Mali, Heads of UN Agencies, ITU elected officials, ambassadors and enterprise chief executive officers.

(Photo courtesy of ITU: Intelsat Chairman Raymond Svider)

~ Vevette Husbands, Program Manager, Trade Shows & Events

Intelsat 14 Pre-fueling Operations Underway

On Friday, 2 October, Day 10 of the Intelsat 14 satellite launch preparations in Cape Canaveral, Florida, pre-fueling operations began.

The spacecraft propulsion team arrived with specialized test equipment to start pre-fueling operations. Prior to filling the spacecraft tanks with oxidizer and fuel, all lines are pressurized and valves are commanded to verify open/close capabilities and to check for any line leaks during the flow and activation test.

Along with propulsion checkouts, spacecraft mechanical closeouts continue in preparation for encapsulating the satellite in its Atlas V rocket fairings.

All operations are going nominally and the satellite is ready for scheduled fueling within the next week.

(Photo: Intelsat 14 undergoing propulsion systems testing)

Parallel Processing Positive for Intelsat 14

Day 9 of the Intelsat 14 satellite launch preparations in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Thursday, 1 October, saw the completion of spacecraft electrical testing - successfully!

The Atlas V launch vehicle also progressed in its processing. The three solid rocket motors have been mated to the rocket's first stage.

The spacecraft propulsion team has arrived at launch site and is preparing for spacecraft fueling operations.

With excellent progress on parallel processing of the launch vehicle assembly and spacecraft tests, the schedule holds firm to encapsulate the satellite into the Atlas V fairings on Monday, 12 October.

(Photo: the Intelsat 14 satellite on its test dolly)