Intelsat: Difference between revisions
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'''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 satellite]]s providing international broadcast services. As of 2007, Intelsat owns and operates a fleet of |
'''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 satellite]]s 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 [[euro]]s.<ref> |
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{{cite web | url = http://www.spacemart.com/reports/BC_Partners_Wins_Control_Of_Satellite_Group_Intelsat_999.html | title = BC Partners Wins Control Of Satellite Group Intelsat | publisher = SpaceDaily}}</ref> |
{{cite web | url = http://www.spacemart.com/reports/BC_Partners_Wins_Control_Of_Satellite_Group_Intelsat_999.html | title = BC Partners Wins Control Of Satellite Group Intelsat | publisher = SpaceDaily}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 13:32, 10 October 2008
| Intelsat Logo | |
| Industry | Satellite communication |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1964 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C.  USA |
| 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]
History
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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[2] 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.
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.
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.
Current operation
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.[5]
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.[6] The satellite returned to service with reduced capacity.[7]
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.[8]
Satellite Details
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Sea Launch delivered Galaxy 19 to GTO on September 24, 2008 using a Zenit rocket launched from its Ocean Odyssey floating platform. Galaxy 19 was built by Space Systems/Loral and carries 52 physical transponders. Intelsat will locate the satellite at 97 degrees West Longitude, with coverage of all 50 US states as well the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico.[9]
Active
| This article is missing information about list . (June 2008) |
| 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 |
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 |
Future
As of 2008, Intelsat has announced several upcoming satellite launches.[10]
| Name | Satellite type | Orbital location | Launch date | Launch vehicle | Payload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelsat 13[citation needed] | 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 | SS/L-1300 | 66 East | TBA | TBA | 28 C/46 Ku |
| Intelsat 18 | Orbital (Star-2 Bus 2.4) | 180 East | TBA | TBA | 40 C/24 Ku |
| Intelsat 20[citation needed] | SS/L-1300 | 72 East | 2Q 11 | Atlas V 431 | 24 C/24 Ku |
| Intelsat 21 | Astrium E3000 | 166 East | TBA | Proton Breeze M[citation needed] | 40 C/40 Ku |
| Intelsat 22 | Astrium E3000 | 58 West | TBA | Proton Breeze M[citation needed] | 40 C/40 Ku |
| Intelsat 23 | Astrium E3000 | 166 East | TBA | Proton Breeze M[citation needed] | 40 C/40 Ku |
See also
External links
- Intelsat, Ltd.
- Market Developments in the Global Satellite Services Industry and the Implementation of the ORBIT Act GAO-05-550T April 14, 2005
- ORBIT Act
Data
38°56′30″N 77°03′49″W / 38.94167°N 77.06361°W
References
- ^ "BC Partners Wins Control Of Satellite Group Intelsat". SpaceDaily.
- ^ ORBIT Act
- ^ Donald E. Kimberlin (June 1, 1994). "Camelot on the Moon".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "On Eagle's Wings: The [[Parkes Observatory]]'s Support of the Apollo 11 Mission (PDF)" (PDF). Astronomical Society of Australia. July 1, 2001.
{{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.intelsat.com/aboutus/careers/locations.aspx List of Intelsat locations
- ^ http://portal.wikinerds.org/node/152 Wikinerds.org posting concerning IA-7 outage
- ^ Gunter's Space Page - information on Galaxy 27
- ^ http://www.intelsat.com/network/satellite/new-names.asp Further renaming information at Intelsat.
- ^ "Sea Launch Successfully Delivers Galaxy 19 to Orbit". September 24, 2008.
- ^ "Intelsat Spacecraft and Launch Manifest". Intelsat.