Your Daily Briefing Of Satellite

Your Daily Briefing Of Satellite Industry News

Space Systems/Loral Delivers iPSTAR-1 at Arianespace Spaceport for Early July Launch

The SS/L-built iPSTAR-1 satellite is loaded onto a Russian

Antonov AN-124 Cargo Airplane at Moffett Field, Calif.

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 10, 2005/Satnews Daily/ — iPSTAR-1 satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has arrived at the Arianespace spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and is undergoing preparations for launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on July 7.

Weighing in with a launch weight of 14,341 pounds (6505 kilograms), iPSTAR-1 will be the heaviest commercial satellite ever delivered to geosynchronous orbit, SS/L said.

“iPSTAR-1 is one of the largest and most technologically advanced satellites ever built for a commercial customer,” said C. Patrick DeWitt, president of Space Systems/Loral.

Built for Shin Satellite, Plc of Thailand, iPSTAR-1 is designed to provide both enterprises and consumers throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand with various levels of Internet access services, competing with cable modems and digital subscriber lines (DSL).

iPSTAR-1 has a total data throughput capacity of over 40 Gbps. The satellite will provide users with data speeds of up to eight Mbps on the forward link and four Mbps on the return link. From its 119.5 degrees East longitude orbital position, iPSTAR-1 will use its seven on-board antennas to create 112 spot and regional beams in the Ku and Ka frequency bands. The satellite will generate 14 kW of electrical power throughout its planned 12-year service life, according to SS/L.

Shin Satellite, a turnkey satellite operator, provides C- and Ku-band transponder leasing, teleport and other value-added and engineering services to users in Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. Shin Satellite owns and operates Thaicom 1A, located at 120 degrees East, and Thaicom 2 and 3, co-located at 78.5 degrees East. The satellites carry a total of 49 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders offering over 70 channels.

The company has spent years researching and developing new technology to make Internet via satellite more efficient, thus reducing costs and improving the service to end-users.