Really Rocket Science

Judge says no to SES, via Space News…

The U.S. bankruptcy court handling the sale of satellite operator ProtoStar Ltd.’s assets on Dec. 10 rejected a proposed deal between ProtoStar and prospective buyer SES, clearing the way for a wide-open Dec. 16 auction of the in-orbit ProtoStar 2 telecommunications satellite. SES is likely to confront at least one other serious bidder at the auction — Asiasat of Hong Kong — and may also face a bid from satellite fleet operator Intelsat, industry officials said. The Delaware Bankruptcy Court refused to accept ProtoStar’s proposed arrangement with SES under which SES agreed, in advance of the auction, to pay $185 million in cash for ProtoStar 2 on condition that it receive $6.3 million in compensation in the event it was outbid. That meant SES was assured of taking ownership of ProtoStar 2 unless another bidder was willing to pay more than $191.3 million for the satellite. Industry officials said the decision means ProtoStar 2 ultimately could sell for less than $185 million, depending on how badly Asiasat wants the spacecraft, a Boeing 601HP model launched in May and stationed at 107.7 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit. It carries 27 Ku-band transponders and 13 S-band transponders. The S-band capacity is leased to Indostar and Indovision of Indonesia. SES and Asiasat both have orbital slots nearby and could move ProtoStar 2 to these positions without losing the Indonesian S-band business. Washington- and Bermuda-based Intelsat does not have an active orbital position in the neighborhood, but its representatives nonetheless have been active in the ProtoStar 2 preauction proceedings and attended the Dec. 10 hearing as well, according to bankruptcy court records of the meeting. Aside from SES, Asiasat and Intelsat, no other satellite operators or prospective buyers appeared at the court hearing, according to the list of attendees. Officials from all three companies declined Dec. 11 to discuss their strategies for ProtoStar 2. Intelsat won the ProtoStar 1 satellite at auction in late October, paying $210 million in cash. Intelsat plans to move the satellite, now called Intelsat 25, to 31.5 degrees west, where its C-band payload will provide communications links between Africa and the United States. The Ku-band payload will be used for a beam over West Africa, according to Intelsat.

NASA’s scheduled Friday launch of Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is rescheduled for December 14 because of problems discovered in a rocket booster steering engine.
[Chicago Sun Times – 12/11/2009]

Gilat Satellite Networks is chosen by STL Ghana to provide a SkyEdge II broadband satellite network to service its customers throughout West Africa.
[Space Mart – 12/10/2009]

UK to have dedicated space agency to direct its space policy and represent it in all dealings with international partners.
[BBC News – 12/10/2009]

Mysterious light display leaves Norwegians and astronomers puzzled; best guesses are a Russian missile test or a meteor.
[POPSCI – 12/10/2009]

Orbital Sciences’ Taurus II CASTOR 30 rocket motor successfully test fired.
[SatNews – 12/10/2009]

Globalstar expands distribution of SPOT satellite GPS Messenger to Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay.
[CNN Money – 12/10/2009]

Eutelsat signs contact with Italian telecoms operator Brennercom to deploy Eutelsat’s Tooway broadband satellite service in the Tyrol region.
[Satellite Today – 12/10/2009]

Chinese rocket launches with top secret spy satellite believed to be a military reconnaissance satellite.
[Spaceflight Now – 12/09/2009]

Launch of French military satellite from Kourou delayed at least a couple of days due to an anomaly in the launcher subsystem.
[Newsvine – 12/09/2009]

Signals acquired by Boeing from the third of six Wideband Global SATCOM satellites indicate that the spacecraft is healthy and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing.
[Space War – 12/09/2009]

Hughes and Sky Perfect JSAT provide capacity to expand satellite broadband services over Afghanistan.
[Satellite Today – 12/09/2009]

Vizada donates BGAN terminals to Humaninet, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating humanitarian organizations about the tremendous benefits of using satellite communications to support relief and development efforts.
[SatNews – 12/09/2009]

Virgin Galactic unveils space tourism’s new carrier, FSS Enterprise – cost for a 2 1/2 hour flight with five minutes of weightlessness: $200,000.
[R&D Magazine – 12/09/2009]

NASA still has not received approval for replacement of the failed Carbon-Observing Satellite which could provide baseline data for monitoring compliance with a new climate treaty being negotiated in Copenhagen.
[Spaceflight Now – 12/08/2009]

NASA announces competition for engineering students to develop ideas on how future explorers might live  on the moon.
[Space Travel – 12/08/2009]

NASA partners with Dynetics and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation to successfully complete environmental testing of the Fast, Affordable Science and Technology Satellite.
[SatNews – 12/08/2009]

Space elevator entrepreneurs pursue their improbable-sounding goal vigorously, claiming it could reshape the global economy.
[CNN Money – 12/08/2009]

SatLink Communications and SES WORLD SKIES launch a DS3 fiber link connecting their teleport facilities.
[SatNews – 12/08/2009]

International Datacasting Corp. completes acquisition of select terrestrial, satellite, and IP product lines and related technology from Logic Innovations.
[Satellite Today – 12/08/2009]

Avanti signs contract with Spanish service provider Satconxion to provide additional broadband capacity on the Hylas 1 satellite.
[Satellite Today – 12/08/2009]

325 ft. tall Ares I-X test rocket launched using attitude control system from decommissioned PeaceKeeper missiles.  Ares I rocket is to be used in the Constellation space program.
[Space Travel – 12/07/2009]

Over a hundred senior managers and experts from the European space industry, national agencies, and ESA attend conference in Geneva to learn about commercial opportunities offered by ESA’s planned data relay satellite system.
[Space Mart – 12/07/2009]

India hopes to join cryogenic rocket engine club with the launch of its heaviest rocket, the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle, in January 2010.
[Space Travel – 12/07/2009]

P&L International announces state of the art phase array satellite communications system for cruise ships, super yachts, and airlines.
[PR Newswire – 12/07/2009]

Ariancespace marks 30th anniversary of Ariane’s first flight with celebration in Washington D.C.
[Space Travel – 12/07/2009]

Ideas on implementing an orbital debris removal capability were submitted in response to a Request for Information released in September; this week DARPA/NASA sponsored an International Conference on Orbital Debris Removal in Chantilly Virginia.
[SpaceMart – 12/07/2009] 

DTH in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia – more platforms, channels, and subscribers, but inevitable consolidation is seen in NSR report.
[NSR Global Direct to Home Markets, 2nd Edition – December 2009]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

 It’s true: you can say anything you want on satellite radio. Using profanities adds an authentic color to the conversation, but there are times it overused.

On the Sirius XM’s Opie & Anthony show yesterday, Jim Norton was a little too aggressive in his use of such language. They were interviewing Jesse Ventura, a former Navy Seal, about his new show on Tru TV, "Conspiracy Theories."

Via PWTorch.com:

Jesse Ventura walked off the Opie & Anthony radio show after engaging in a heated argument with co-host Jim Norton while promoting his new reality show that debuts tonight on truTV.

After profanities were traded back-and-forth between Ventura and Norton related to the subjects of government cover-ups that Ventura will be discussing on his new show, Ventura walked off the set.

 What did they say? Let’s go to the video…

 Also the former governor of Minnesota, he deserve a little more respect than Mr. Norton afforded him.

Yesterday, Hughes announced they’ve shipped more than 2 million VSAT terminals since the mid-80’s:

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that it has shipped an aggregate of over 2.1 million satellite terminals as of Q3 2009, continuing the company’s leadership of the global very small aperture terminal (VSAT) market which began in the mid-80s when Hughes shipped the first VSAT network to Wal-Mart.

For over 25 years since it first designed and developed VSATs, Hughes has consistently maintained the position of worldwide market leader in satellite networks and services. These networks provide rapid, reliable transmission of data, voice, video and multimedia to sites located virtually anywhere over continent-wide areas covered by geostationary satellites. Customers of Hughes satellite networks and HughesNet® broadband IP services include many of the world’s leading companies, spanning a wide range of vertical sectors from retail, to oil/gas, hospitality, lottery, automotive, banking and entertainment/media, as well as government and multi-national organizations.

"We are extremely proud of reaching this significant milestone," said Pradman Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes. "It marks a quarter of a century during which Hughes has built its successful business as an innovator of VSAT-based satellite networks and services, and has made major contributions in evolving this technology to become an integral part of the world’s broadband telecom infrastructure. From enterprises and governments to businesses and consumers, Hughes serves customers in all market sectors and in more than 100 countries, including providing high-speed Internet services by satellite to nearly 500,000 consumers in the U.S. in areas where terrestrial alternatives aren’t available."

Hey, that’s great: a half-million people use it. The rest have been built up over time by businesses. Are they all as happy as those featured in this TV spot?

According to the fine print, "speed and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed." Anecdotal, yes, but here’s a recent opinion via Broadband Reports…

I have had this Satellite connection for about (or over) 5 years now. Yes, that means before Hughes came in, I was using DirecWay (bad because it was still satellite. Good because the download speeds were better, there was no limit on what you could download, and the tech support was ok back then). I don’t even know why I switched to Satellite, because I had Cable and DSL already here… Well I had the plan which was about $80/month (way too much for trash) and had a 24 hour limit of 375MB, and I have the HN7000S modem.

Let me say that if you really complain about your internet connection being slow or something, please, there is worse. At its very best, I get a 1.01Mbps Download/0.15Mbps Upload speed with a ping of almost 900. Takes about 12 seconds to fully load this site’s home page. Online gaming sucks, it’s horrible, you can even call it respulsive using Satellite. In shooter games like Halo, I would warp around the map, and if it wasn’t that, people would kick/ban me for ‘lagging’ the server. In the Xbox 360 game Halo 3, I can’t even do matchmaking; I’d be lucky to even be able to sign into Xbox Live.

Really, I sometimes find Dial-up more reliable than this. If I downloaded a file over 375MB in a whole day (not during their Happy Hour–2am to 7am) I would get throttled down for 24 hours with a top download speed of 1.75KB/sec. Now at it’s best download/upload speed with no limits, which is called Happy Hour, my very best download speed would be 121KB/sec which I find somewhat slow. During a rainstorm, I would not have a connection at all to the internet, but if I do, it would be very slow. If I had a little ice or snow on the Satellite dish, no connection at all.

Found Verizon DSL and I already purcahsed it. I have the 1.5Mbps Download/384Kbps Upload plan for $19.99/Month (way under 50% of what I was paying for, while getting better connection). They already sent me the Wireless Router Modem (Westell model 7500) which was free becuase I purchased online, and my service will be activated 12/1/09. On that day, as soon as I find a connection to the internet with the DSL, and all computers are connected to it; I am trashing HughesNet.

If you have no internet connection around your area except Dial-up (which I find more reliable at times, using Hughes, in my opinion), try satellite, but if you do have something else, stay with what you got or switch to something not satellite.

[I will most likely be writing a review of my plan of Verizon DSL after month or two of using it]

Goodbye Hughes.

P.S. Will not miss you, and I will probably celebrating when you are gone and replaced by Verizon DSL.

Sure, satcom companies are lining up for some broadband stimulus money, but this is not a sure thing. Look out for WiMAX, cable and DSL to get in there first. They’ll probably play up the "job creation" angle, too. Of the satcom players, I think Wildblue is in a better position to capitalize on this opportunity.

A Ukrainian Zenit rocket launched Intelsat-15 yesterday, captured nicely on video by TV Roscosmos…

Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced today that a Zenit-3SLB vehicle successfully launched the Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15) from the Land Launch facilities at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. Liftoff occurred at 4:00 p.m. ET, followed by signal acquisition and spacecraft separation about six and a half hours later at 10:28 p.m. ET.

The satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, will provide video and data services through its high power Ku-band payload. Once IS-15 is operational, it will replace Intelsat’s 709 satellite at 85º E, and is expected to have a useful life of at least 17 years.

Customers will use IS-15’s capacity to distribute in-demand services that include cellular backhaul, for wireless communications to remote locations; broadband networks for enterprise applications; IP trunking, for robust Internet connectivity; and video services, for DTH programming.

Nearly 23% of the payload is set aside for SKY Perfect JSAT’s broadband services in Asia.  The spacecraft was built by Orbital and will replace IS-709 at 85° East:

Spacecraft
Launch Mass: 2,550 kg (5,622 lb.)
Solar Arrays: Four panels per array, UTJ Gallium Arsenide cells
Stabilization: 3-axis stabilized; zero momentum system
Propulsion: Liquid bi-propellant transfer orbit system; Monopropellant (hydrazine) on-orbit system
Batteries: Two >4840 W-Hr capacity Li-Ion batteries
Mission Life: 15 years (fueled for 16 years)
Orbit: 85 degrees East Longitude

Payload
Frequency: Ku-band
Repeater: 22 active transponders with 30-for-22 redundant TWTA’s
Antenna: Two 2.3 m deployable dual-grid reflectors; one 1.4 m deck-mounted antenna

According the Space News, SES was set to announce a very large contract with Astrium to purchase several spacecraft:

Satellite fleet operator SES has selected Astrium Satellites to build four direct-broadcast television spacecraft in a contract valued at around 500 million euros ($753 million) and expected to be signed the week of Nov. 30, industry officials said.

It will be the biggest single satellite order ever made by Luxembourg-based SES, which is also negotiating with Astrium on the sale of SES’s ND Satcom unit, a satellite ground-hardware supplier whose recent financial performance has been disappointing.

One industry official said the satellite order and the ND Satcom negotiations are not related, and that the satellite deal does not depend on Astrium’s purchase of Friedrichshafen, Germany-based ND Satcom, which is the biggest company inside what SES calls its services division.

This ought to ensure the viability of Europe’s space business for at least another decade. And if the shake-up at ND Satcom continues, it will confirm SES is truly concerned with space segment, first and foremost.

Sure enough, they made the formal announcement today:

“This important investment in new satellite capacity will enhance the prominence of SES ASTRA’s 28.2 degrees East position, mainly for the UK and Irish markets, and improve coverage of Eastern Europe from 31.5 degrees East,” said Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES. “It will also allow SES WORLD SKIES to extend its offer to the African and Middle Eastern markets. By adding significant flexibility and improved functionality, these new satellites will allow SES to further drive its DTH, DTT, enterprise and broadband businesses while consolidating space assets and strengthening the international reach of the group. Also, we are pleased to be working again with Astrium. SES has appreciated the quality of their products and their customer dedication in recent and ongoing contracts, and this is exactly what we are looking for in this multi-satellite contract.”

What they were not looking for was Orbital, Lockheed, Boeing or SS/Loral. SES stands for Société Européenne des Satellites, after all.

John Malone says DirecTV is not for sale, though he says the company would at least listen to offers.

[Satellite Today – 11/26/2009]

Eutelsat’s W7 satellite is carried into orbit aboard a Proton Breeze M rocket, marking 4th successful satellite launch for Eutelsat in 2009.
[TransWorldNews – 11/25/2009]

U.S. Air Force plans to launch the third Wideband Global SATCOM satellite on December 2.
[Patrick Air Force Base news – 11/25/2009]

Gilat is chosen by Telefonica del Peru for broadband satellite communications project covering more than 3,500 sites.
[CNN Money – 11/25/2009]

Eutelsat announces that French telecoms operator SFR has selected Eutelsat’s Tooway satellite broadband service to meet demand from its customers beyond ADSL coverage.
[Trading Markets – 11/25/2009]

Spacecom wins Amos 5i contract in Africa worth estimated $6.3m from unnamed customer.
[Satellite Today – 11/25/2009]

Spinning wind sensor antenna on NASA’s QuikSCAT satellite fails after more than a decade of operations, leaving weather forecasters without a critical tool to measure winds inside distant hurricanes and fueling controversy about replacement.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/24/2009]

Preparations move forward at Baikonur Space Center for fourth Land Launch mission, a planned launch on November 29th of the Intelsat 15 satellite, the first Intelsat launch for Land Launch.
[SatNews – 11/24/2009]

MacDonald, Dettwiller and Associates sign $187m contract with Russian Radio Research and Development Institute to provide technology solutions for Russian Express AM5 and AM6 satellites.
[Satellite Today – 11/24/2009]

Serbia becomes EUMETSAT’s latest cooperating state following ratification process.
[SatNews – 11/24/2009]

iDirect announces that Belgium Satellite Services has installed iDirect Universal Satellite Hub to strengthen capabilities and reach of its IP satellite broadband offerings in Middle East and Africa.
[SatNews – 11/24/2009]

NASA’s Aqua satellite sees Nida explode into a category 5 super typhoon.
[PHYSORG – 11/25/2009]

Russia launches Cosmos-series military satellite aboard a Soyuz rocket.
[Space War – 11/23/2009]

Intelsat 14 is successfully carried into orbit aboard Atlas 5 rocket.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/23/2009]

AsiaSat 3S capacity will be used for live television coverage of the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games December 5-12.
[SatNews – 11/23/2009]

Chinese state inquiry determines that a burn-through of its Long March rocket engine’s upper-stage gas generator was the primary cause of failure to place Indonesia’s Palapa-D satellite into proper orbit.
[Satellite Today – 11/23/2009]

Newpoint Technologies and SAT Corporation partner with Clearbox Systems to provide satellite ground station and network management system to BAE Systems of Australia, to support forces accessing Wideband Global SATCOM system.
[CNN Money – 11/23/2009]

Inmarsat completes acquisition of Segovia Inc.
[Wall Street Journal – 11/23/2009]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

We’ve been waiting for this one. It finally went up at 1:55 EST, while I slept…

Thanks to SpaceFlightNow for tweeting it, and for this nice photo by Ben Cooper:

One of the good things about living in Florida — besides the warm weather — is watching lots of launches. Here’s an amateur version of this particular launch…

Iran plans to launch its own satellite by 2011, since no one seems willing to help; Iran claims it is a communications satellite – Israel says it is a spy satellite.
[Fox News – 11/20/2009]

The MIRAS instrument on the European Space Agency’s SMOS satellite launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally – it will map soil moisture and ocean salinity.
[Space Mart – 11/20/2009]

Russia may delay maiden launch of the new Angara carrier rocket, designed to put heavy payloads into orbit, for at least one year due to shortage of funds from the Defense Ministry.
[Space Travel – 11/20/2009]

DirecTV announces completion of merger with Liberty Entertainment following Liberty Media stockholders’ OK for split of Liberty Entertainment; acquisition by AT&T or Verizon is a possibility.
[iStockAnalyst – 11/19/2009]   –   [Wall Street Journal blog – 11/20/2009]

NSR industry briefing sees the satellite-based earth observation market entering a phase of impressive growth, expected to generate $6.2B in satellite manufacturing, commercial data, and value added services in 2018.
[NSR – 11/19/2009]

President Obama and Chinese president Hu Jintao agree to expand and formalize U.S.-Chinese discussions on new cooperative space efforts at Beijing summit.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/18/2009]

Quick-thinking Chinese ground controllers able to maneuver high-value Chinese spacecraft out of path of space debris, marking first such save by China, and emphasizing the mounting orbital debris hazards faced by space-faring nations.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/18/2009]

DirecTV chooses Michael white, former vice chairman of PepsiCo, as new CEO; Echostar elevates Michael Dugan to CEO as Charley Ergen vacates the post.
[CED Magazine – 11/18/2009]

Iridium teams with three new partners to expand satellite services offering in Mexico.
[CNN Money – 11/18/2009]

Shuttle Atlantis successfully docks with International Space Station.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/18/2009]

ViaSat offers new Ethernet Service Expansion Module for its Enhance Bandwidth Efficient Modem that promotes Frequency Division Multiple Access across Department of Defense satellite networks.
[SatNews – 11/18/2009]

Sri Lanka signs agreement with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited of the UK to obtain an Earth Observation satellite, representing Sri Lanka’s first communications satellite.
[Space Mart – 11/18/2009]

NASA chief is ready to work with China on space exploration, as Beijing aims to send a manned mission to the moon by around 2020.
[Space Daily – 11/17/2009]

SES invests $75M in O3b to become a key shareholder, aiming to support development of the O3b high-speed satellite internet network.
[Satellite Today – 11/17/2009]

Gilat reports third quarter revenue decline, and announces hiring of former Intelsat General president Susan Miller as SIGS CEO.
[Satellite Today – 11/17/2009]

Spot LLC responds to budget conscious holiday shoppers by offering a $50 Holiday Rebate for the SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker, the award-winning personal and portable satellite-based communications messenger.
[CNN Money – 11/17/2009]

SatMax completes installation of Iridium satellite communications repeater systems for ITT Corporation; the Defense Department plans to use SatMAX systems indoors to provide non-line-of-site access to Iridium satellites.
[CNN Money – 11/17/2009]

Stratos Global is recognized by the World Teleport Association as the world’s largest independent teleport operator again in 2009.
[PR Newswire – 11/17/2009]

SpaceX protests U.S. Air Force contract award to Orbital Sciences Corp. for missile hardware.
[Satellite Today – 11/17/2009]

KVH TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband service will be deployed by the United States Coast Guard on its 110 ft. and 225 ft. cutters.
[SatNews – 11/17/2009]

Spot Image Corporation and the U.S. Geological Survey have begun to distribute, over the internet, SPOT satellite data collected over North America between 1986 and 1998.
[SatNews – 11/17/2009]

Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite strike strategic agreement for cooperation at 75 Degrees East position in satellite orbital arc.
[PR Newswire – 11/16/2009]

Stratos Global expands its line of Stratos MobileLink fixed-to-mobile calling services, enabling fast, affordable connectivity from fixed locations to Iridium and Inmarsat mobile satellite terminals, to help customer avoid high tariffs charged by local telephone companies.
[SatNews – 11/16/2009]

Newtec’s Sat3Play and ASTRA2Connect internet connection rated EXCELLENT by leading independent German consumer organization group.
[SatNews – 11/16/2009]

TCS acquires substantially all of the assets of Sidereal Solutions, Inc., a satellite communications technology engineering, operations, and maintenance support services company.
[SatNews – 11/16/2009]

Atlas launch of Intelsat 14 is halted due to power interruption to Ordnance Remote Control Assembly; launch will be rescheduled following the space shuttle Atlantis launch.
[Universe Today – 11/15/2009]

NSR report – Global Satellite-Base Earth Observation – the industry has taken rapid strides in the last decade, reinventing itself by expanding application base from military and weather to industries including infrastructure, energy, and insurance.
[NSR Report – November 2009]

NSR Report – Global Assessment of Satellite Supply & Demand, 6th Edition – was Intelat’s purchase of ProtoStar-1 for $210M a good deal or not?
[NSR Report – November 2009]

FCC claims that cable and satellite set-top-boxes may be impeding the growth of broadband internet connectivity into homes.
[Washington Post blog Post Tech – November 2009]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Yes, rocket scientists, the moment we’ve been waiting for is almost upon us. Cisco’s on-board router, a USAF payload hosted by the Intelsat 14 spacecraft, is scheduled to launch on Friday:

 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, on behalf of Lockheed Martin Space Launch Services, will launch the commercial Intelsat-14 satellite from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Nov. 14 with a launch window of 12:48 – 2:18 a.m. EST. If the launch scrubs a day, the window for Nov. 15 will remain the same.

With the launch of Intelsat-14, nearly half of the Atlas V launches in program history will have been commercial missions, with nine commercial missions and 10 government missions. The Intelsat-14 spacecraft will provide high-powered video and data services through its 40 C-band and 22 Ku-band payload to customers throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. Additionally, Intelsat-14. Additionally, Intlesat-14 hosts a payload for the Internet Router in Space, or IRIS program, for the Department of Defense.

The launch will be broadcast live via Galaxy 16, after midnight from Cape Canaveral:

Satellite: Galaxy-16
Transponder: 08 C
Band: C-Band Analog
Orbital Location: 99° W;
Uplink Frequency: 6085 MHz Horizontal;
Downlink Frequency: 3860 MHz Vertical;
Bandwidth: 36 MHz
Audio Subcarrier: 6.2 and 6.8

TEST TRANSMISSION
Service start: 13 Nov 2009 14:00 ET / 13 Nov 2009 19:00 GMT
Service end: 13 Nov 2009 17:00 ET / 13 Nov 2009 22:00 GMT

LAUNCH BROADCAST TRANSMISSION
Service start: 14 Nov 2009 00:01 ET / 14 Nov 2009 05:01 GMT
Service end: 14 Nov 2009 02:45 ET / 14 Nov 2009 07:45 GMT

The IRIS payload will get the attention, but the 40 C-band transponders will make some money for Intelsat, as IS-14 will replace the old PAS-1R at 45° West (315° East for you old-timers). Lots of full-time video customers located at 45° West.

 IRIS coverage is substantial and what we’ll learn will advance Internet communications via space assets. We hope.