DirecTV Inc.’s “Spaceway F2” satellite has arrived at the GuianaSpaceCenter in Kourou, French Guiana, and it is undergoing preparations for launch next month, the direct-broadcast satellite company said late Wednesday.
Spaceway F2 is one of four birds the company is launching over a two-year span as part of an expansion of programming capacity that will enable it to deliver more than 1,500 local TV stations and more than 150 national HD channels, as well as other advanced programming services, to consumers nationwide by 2007.
Spaceway F1 launched in late April.
“The upcoming launch of Spaceway F2 is the next major milestone in our digital/HD-expansion plan and great news for those customers in many of the major markets around the country who are looking forward to receiving their local channels in digital or high-definition,” DirecTV senior vice president of communications systems Jim Butterworth said in a prepared statement.
