Intelsat Probes Americas-7 Failure; IA-8 Launch Temporarily On Hold

PEMBROKE, Bermuda, Dec. 13/Satnews Daily/ ¾ Intelsat said Friday 22 transponders on the Intelsat-Americas-7 satellite have been tested, are performing normally, and are available to be put back into service. It added several of these transponders are already being used to provide service to Intelsat customers.

Intelsat said in a statement it continues to work closely with Space Systems/Loral to determine and fully analyze the cause of last week's anomaly, though it admitted the complexity of the failure means it may take several months to deliver a final report. Until the IA-7 investigation report is completed, Intelsat has temporarily delayed the launch of its IA-8 satellite.

"In order to continue upholding the highest standards in satellite operations, and in the interest of providing the best possible service for our customers, we have decided to delay the IA-8 launch until we receive the results of the IA-7 anomaly investigation. In the meantime, we remain committed to providing high-quality service across all satellites in the Intelsat fleet," said Intelsat CEO Conny Kullman.

Regarding the acquisition of Intelsat by Zeus Holdings Limited, Intelsat's prospective acquirer, Intelsat said Zeus would have the option not to consummate the acquisition of Intelsat if the loss is not remedied in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Intelsat added Zeus has been advised of Intelsat's decision to delay the launch of IA-8 and continues to evaluate the extent to which the IA-7 anomaly and the IA-8 launch delay could impact the pending acquisition.

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