Intelsat S.A. today reported that its Intelsat 34 satellite was launched successfully from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 4:34 pm EDT. The Intelsat 34 satellite separated from the rocket’s upper stage 40 minutes after launch, at 5:14 pm EDT, and signal acquisition has been confirmed.
Intelsat 34 is a C- and Ku-band satellite to be placed into service at the 304.5ºE orbital location. It will replace Intelsat 805 and Galaxy 11 as the third in Intelsat’s leading Latin America, pan-regional video distribution neighborhood (which includes Intelsat 11 and Intelsat 21). Intelsat 34 includes a C-band payload which will deliver media distribution services for blue chip media powerhouses including Fox Sports and HBOLA. The satellite also hosts a leading Direct-to-Home (“DTH”) platform in Ku-band as well as a specialized Ku-band payload serving the North Atlantic that will support broadband services for the fast growing aeronautical and maritime mobility sector. Intelsat 34 was built by SSL.
“Intelsat 34 is a great example of the breadth of services that Intelsat’s satellites are able to provide to communities around the world,” said Stephen Spengler, Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat. “With services spanning from DTH and cable programming distribution, to broadband for vessels and planes traversing the North Atlantic, Intelsat 34 demonstrates our role in delivering broadband infrastructure and media distribution with superior reliability. We are thrilled with today’s successful launch and look forward to our next two launches which are scheduled for the first quarter of 2016, including the first of our Intelsat EpicNG satellites, Intelsat 29e.”