Intelsat

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Intelsat, Ltd.
Type
Founded 1964
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Flag of the United States USA
Industry Satellite communication
Website www.intelsat.com

Intelsat, Ltd. is the world’s largest commercial satellite communications services provider. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT), it was an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast services. As of 2007, Intelsat owns and operates a fleet of 51 communications satellites. in June 2007 BC Partners announced they had acquired 76 percent of Intelsat for about 3.75 billion euros.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

INTELSAT I Early Bird
INTELSAT I Early Bird
An Intelsat IVA Satellite
An Intelsat IVA Satellite

The Inter-Governmental Organization (IGO) began on August 20, 1964, with 11 participating countries. On April 6, 1965, Intelsat’s first satellite, the Intelsat I (nicknamed Early Bird), was placed in geostationary orbit above the Atlantic Ocean by a Delta D rocket. Due to heavy lobbying by PanAmSat, a US satellite operator, the US congress passed the Open Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act in order to privatize the international organization. In order to appease the US government Intelsat's senior management, in April 1998, spun-off five of its older satellites to a private Dutch entity, New Skies Satellites, which soon became a direct competitor to INTELSAT. In order to avert the US government's interference with Intelsat, Intelsat's senior management unsuccessfully considered relocating the IGO to another country.

On July 18, 2001, Intelsat became a private company, 37 years after being formed. In the period prior to Intelsat's privatization in 2001, ownership and investment in INTELSAT (measured in shares) was distributed among INTELSAT members according to their respective use of services. Investment shares determined each member’s percentage of the total contribution needed to finance capital expenditures. The organization’s primary source of revenue came from satellite usage fees which, after deduction of operating costs, was redistributed to INTELSAT members in proportion to their shares as repayment of capital and compensation for use of capital. Satellite services were available to any organization (both INTELSAT members and non-members), and all users paid the same rates.

Intelsat logo from 1973 to 1998
Intelsat logo from 1973 to 1998

In 1973, the name was changed and there were 80 signatories. Intelsat provides service to over 600 Earth stations in more than 149 countries, territories and dependencies. By 2001, INTELSAT had over 100 members. It was also in this year when INTELSAT privatized and its name changed to Intelsat.

Since its inception, Intelsat has used several versions (blocks) of its dedicated Intelsat satellites. INTELSAT completes each block of spacecraft independently, leading to a variety of contractors over the years. Intelsat’s largest spacecraft supplier is Space Systems/Loral, having built 31 spacecraft (as of 2003), or nearly half of the fleet.

Intelsat logo from 1998 to 2006
Intelsat logo from 1998 to 2006

The network in its early years was not as robust as it is now. A failure of the Atlantic satellite in the spring of 1969 threatened to stop the Apollo 11 mission; a replacement satellite went into a bad orbit and could not be recovered in time; NASA had to resort to using undersea cable telephone circuits to bring Apollo's communications to NASA during the mission.[2] Fortunately, during the Apollo 11 moonwalk, the moon was over the Pacific Ocean, and so other antennas were used, as well as INTELSAT III, which was in geostationary orbit of the Pacific.[3]

Today, the number of Intelsat satellites, as well as ocean-spanning fibre-optic lines, allows rapid rerouting of traffic when one satellite fails. Modern satellites also are themselves more robust, lasting longer with much larger capacity.

[edit] Current operation

Intelsat headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Intelsat headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Intelsat was sold for U.S. $3.1bn in January 2005 to four private equity firms: Madison Dearborn Partners, Apax Partners, Permira and Apollo Management. The company acquired PanAmSat on July 3, 2006, and is now the world's largest provider of fixed satellite services, operating a fleet of 52 satellites in prime orbital locations. Intelsat maintains its corporate headquarters in Bermuda, with a majority of staff and satellite functions — administrative headquarters — located at the Intelsat Corporation offices in Washington, DC. A highly international business, Intelsat sources the majority of its revenue from non-U.S. located customers.

Spacecraft operations are controlled through ground stations in Clarksburg, Maryland (USA), Hagerstown, Maryland (USA), Riverside, California (USA), and Fuchsstadt, Germany.[4]

Intelsat was operating Intelsat Americas-7 (known formerly as Telstar 7 and now known as Galaxy 27) which experienced a several-day power failure on 29 November 2004.[5] The satellite returned to service with reduced capacity.[6]

[edit] Renaming

On February 1, 2007, Intelsat changed the names of 16 of its satellites formerly known under the Intelsat Americas and PanAmSat brands to Galaxy and Intelsat, respectively.[7]

[edit] Satellite Details

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Satellite Coverage Map (HTML)

[edit] Active

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Please improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
Name Satellite type Orbital location Launched Launch vehicle Payload
Intelsat 1R BSS 702 (Boeing 702) 45 West November 16, 2000 Ariane 5G Rocket 36 C/36 Ku
Intelsat 2 HS 601 (Boeing 601) 169 East July 8, 1994 Ariane 44L Rocket 16 C/18 Ku
Intelsat 3R[citation needed] HS 601 (Boeing 601) 43 West January 13, 1996 Ariane 44L Rocket 16 C/22 Ku
Intelsat 4 HS 601 (Boeing 601) 72 East August 3, 1995 Ariane 44L Rocket 16 C/30 Ku
Intelsat 7 SS/L-1300 68.5 East September 16, 1998 Ariane 44LP Rocket 14 C/30 Ku
Intelsat 8 SS/L-1300 166 East November 4, 1998 Proton-K 24 C/24 Ku
Intelsat 9 HS 601HP (Boeing 601HP) 58 West November 16, 2000 Zenit 3-SL 24 C/24 Ku
Intelsat 10 BSS 601HP (Boeing 601HP) 68.5 East May 15, 2001 Proton-K 24 C/24 Ku
Intelsat 11 Orbital (Star-2 Bus) 43 West October 5, 2007 Ariane 5 Rocket 16 C
Intelsat 12 SS/L-1300 45 East October 29, 2000 Ariane-44LP Rocket 30 Ku

[edit] Retired

Name Satellite type Orbital location Launched Retired Launch vehicle Payload
Intelsat 3R HS 601 (Boeing 601) 43 West January 13, 1996 March 25, 2008[citation needed] Ariane 44L Rocket 16 C/22 Ku
Intelsat 5 HS 601HP (Boeing 601HP) 58 West August 28, 1997 March 25, 2001 Proton-K 28 C/28 Ku
Intelsat 6B HS 601HP (Boeing 601HP) 43 West December 21, 1998 July 14, 2008 Ariane 42L Rocket 32 Ku

[edit] Future

Name Satellite type Orbital location Launched Launch vehicle Payload
Intelsat 13 Orbital (Star-2 Bus) 169 East 2Q 11 Ariane 5 Rocket 16 C/24 Ku
Intelsat 14 SS/L-1300 45 West 2H 09 Atlas V 431 40 C/22 Ku
Intelsat 15 Orbital (Star-2 Bus) 85 East 2Q 09 Zenit 3-SLB 22 Ku
Intelsat 16 Orbital (Star-2 Bus) 58 West 2H 09 Zenit 3-SLB 24 Ku
Intelsat 17 Astrium E3000 166 East 4Q 12 Proton Breeze M 40 C/40 Ku
Intelsat 18 Astrium E3000 58 West 3H 13 Proton Breeze M 40 C/40 Ku
Intelsat 19 Astrium E3000 68.5 East 2Q 14 Proton Breeze M 40 C/40 Ku
Intelsat 20 SS/L-1300 72 East 2Q 11 Atlas V 431 24 C/24 Ku

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Data

Coordinates: 38°56′30″N, 77°03′49″W

[edit] References

  1. ^ BC Partners Wins Control Of Satellite Group Intelsat. SpaceDaily.
  2. ^ Donald E. Kimberlin (June 1, 1994). Camelot on the Moon. Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
  3. ^ On Eagle's Wings: The Parkes Observatory's Support of the Apollo 11 Mission (PDF). Astronomical Society of Australia (July 1, 2001). Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
  4. ^ http://www.intelsat.com/aboutus/careers/locations.aspx List of Intelsat locations
  5. ^ http://portal.wikinerds.org/node/152 Wikinerds.org posting concerning IA-7 outage
  6. ^ Gunter's Space Page - information on Galaxy 27
  7. ^ http://www.intelsat.com/network/satellite/new-names.asp Further renaming information at Intelsat.