Intelsat Ltd. confirmed Friday that it decided to launch its “Intelsat Americas-9” satellite, “IA-9,” in the fourth quarter of next year.
The decision will allow Intelsat to serve customer demand for high-powered Ku-band capacity for data networking, video and other applications.
IA-9 will be placed at the 97 degrees west longitude orbital position, which is now occupied by IA-5. The IA-9 satellite will serve the existing and growth requirements of key customers from that orbital location. Following the launch of IA-9, the company plans to redeploy IA-5 to a currently unserved location at 77 degrees WL, giving Intelsat the opportunity to develop a new role in the broadcast arc.
Adding to Intelsat’s current global fleet of 27 owned-and-operated satellites, IA-9 will help to maintain Intelsat’s position as one of the leading carriers of international programming in
North America, as well as providing space segment for media, enterprise and government customers.
At 97 degrees WL, Space Systems/Loral-built IA-9 will provide coverage over the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Caribbean and parts of Canada. The spacecraft will offer 28 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders.
