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Intelsat New Dawn satellite to be launched in March
| Rudolph Muller | February 16, 2011 | No comments |
Rudolph Muller
Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...
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The Intelsat New Dawn satellite is scheduled to be launched on 29 March 2011 from Arianespace's launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.
Intelsat New Dawn is the first African private sector communications satellite.
A joint-venture between a consortium led by Convergence Partners and Intelsat S.A., the New Dawn satellite and its 28 C-band and 24 Ku-band 36 MHz transponder units are designed to supply communications infrastructure for African customers.
Operating from a geostationary orbital slot at 32.8 degrees East, Intelsat New Dawn will be positioned to serve Africa through a payload optimized to deliver wireless backhaul, broadband and media content – the fastest growing satellite-based applications in Africa.
Delivered on time and within the $250 million budget, the Intelsat New Dawn venture has been approximately 90% funded from African sources. The Convergence Partners consortium also includes strategic shareholder Altirah Telecoms and the not-for-profit Convergence Partners Foundation.
“When placed into service in the second quarter of 2011, Intelsat New Dawn will address the capacity backlog faced by African wireless telecom operators, broadband service providers, corporate network service providers and media operators who have experienced exceptional growth along with the economic development of the region,” the company said in a press statement.
Customers contracting for capacity in advance of launch include Vodacom International Ltd, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Ltd, Bharti Airtel and Gilat Satcom.
Thierry Guillemin, Chief Technical Officer of Intelsat, said, “With manufacturing of the satellite now concluding, our team transitions its focus to the launch mission in French Guiana. We will conduct tests on-site as the final preparations for this historic satellite are completed.”
Commissioned in December 2008 and built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, the hybrid C-band/Ku-band satellite will be operated and marketed as a part of the global Intelsat fleet, bringing to 22 the number of Intelsat satellites serving Africa.
Arianespace was selected as the launch partner and will use the most powerful version in the Ariane 5 range, the Ariane 5 ECA (Cryogenic Evolution type A), for this dual payload mission of the Intelsat New Dawn and Yahsat 1A telecommunications satellites.
The Ariane 5 launcher for the Intelsat New Dawn satellite recently arrived at the Spaceport in French Guiana, where it is being readied for the mission.
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