[SatNews] The successful Intelsat launch on Friday from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana is continuing to deliver positive signals. Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), announced that a communications satellite that it designed and built for Intelsat is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan. The satellite deployed its solar arrays Friday afternoon, following its successful launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Since then, it has also fired its main thruster twice to begin maneuvering into geosynchronous orbit.

"SS/L has been building satellites for Intelsat for more than 35 years," said John Celli, President of Space Systems/Loral. "The successful launch of another Space Systems/Loral-built Intelsat satellite is a tribute to the spirit of teamwork and dedication that our companies share."

Intelsat 17 will be located at 66 degrees East longitude where it will replace Intelsat 702, which was launched in 1994 and was also built by Space Systems/Loral. The satellite will be positioned adjacent to Intelsat's Asian video distribution neighborhood located at 68.5 degrees East longitude and will provide video services and network services across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

"We were very pleased with Space Systems/Loral's hard work on the Intelsat 17 mission," said Ken Lee, Intelsat's Senior Vice President, Space Systems. "More than half the satellites in our fleet are provided by Space Systems/Loral, which speaks to the quality of our long term collaborative relationship."

Intelsat 17 is the 45th satellite built by Space Systems/Loral in the Intelsat fleet. It has four deployable antennas and one fixed earth deck antenna and a steerable Ku-band antenna. The satellite is based on the SS/L 1300 spacecraft platform, which has a long history of reliability and provides the power and flexibility for a broad range of applications. With the launch of Intelsat 17, there are 64 SS/L-built 1300 satellites currently operating in orbit.