The Intelsat 31 satellite is now set for an International Launch Service's (ILS) Proton M/Breeze M launch from Baikonur on June 8, 2016, from Launch Pad 24.
The satellite was built by Space Systems Loral (SSL) and is based on that company's 1300 platform and will be co-located with Intelsat 30 at 95 degrees West longitude, where it will augment and provide redundancy and reliability for DTH broadcast services. The 20-kilowatt satellite will be used by DIRECTV Latin America for HD programming throughout Spanish-speaking South American and the Caribbean.
Artistic rendition of the Intelsat 31 satellite.
Image courtesy of SSL.
The Proton M launch vehicle, using a 5-burn Breeze M Supersynchronous Transfer Orbit (SSTO) mission design, will lift off from Pad 24 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the Intelsat 31 satellite on board. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent profile to place the orbital unit (Breeze M upper stage and the Intelsat 31 satellite) into a sub-orbital trajectory. From that point in the mission, the Breeze M will perform planned mission maneuvers to advance the orbital unit first to a circular parking orbit, then to an intermediate orbit, followed by a transfer orbit, and finally to a supersynchronous transfer orbit. Separation of the Intelsat 31 satellite is scheduled to occur approximately 15 hours, 31 minutes after lift-off.
A live webcast of the launch may be viewed at intelsat31.imgondemand.com