Intelsat 29E

Launch data: Designation  41308 / 16004A Launch date  27 Jan 2016 - 23:20 UT Launch site  Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle  Ariane-5ECA Mission  Communication Geostationary orbit on Feb 9.98 2016: Perigee / Apogee  35785 x 35788 km Eccentricity  3,56E-05 Inclination  0.09 ° Period  1416.11 min

Description:

• INTELSAT 29E communications platform, weighing more than 14,400 pounds (6.5 metric tons) at launch, is the first spacecraft to launch for Intelsat's Epic program, an initiative announced in 2012 to drastically boost the capacity and reach of the company's satellite network. INTELSAT 29E is located at 50 degrees west longitude, where the new satellite will replace aging Intelsat spacecraft launched in 2000. The satellite can route up to 25 gigabits of data every second through its sophisticated communications instrumentation, and INTELSAT 29E hosts the equivalent of 270 transponders in C-band, Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies. Each Intelsat Epic spacecraft has more capacity than an Air Force WGS satellite, which were designed more than a decade ago. Designed for a 15-year lifetime, INTELSAT 29E will support video and data distribution across South America with its C-band links, while its Ku-band covers a wide swath of the Americas, including aeronautical routes over the North Atlantic, where passengers will receive live television and broadband Internet thanks to INTELSAT 29E.

Mission details:

• Arianespace placed the IS-29e communications satellite in a low-inclination geotransfer orbit on Jan 27, 2016. IS-29e carries C, Ku and Ka-band communications payload and is the first of Intelsat's new broadband high-throughput 'Epic-NG' series, built by Boeing using the BSS-702MP bus. Launch mass was 6552 kg.

External links:

• Satellite tracking: Real time satellite tracking