Intelsat's Galaxy 17 Satellite Operational

[BGonaSTICK]

Thursday 19th July

Intelsat, Ltd., the world's leading provider of commercial satellite services, announced today that its new Galaxy 17 satellite is fully operational and providing services. The satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space and launched by Arianespace on 4 May, arrived at 74.05°W on Thursday, 5 July and Intelsat took control of the satellite from Thales Alenia Space on Friday, 6 July.

Galaxy 17 will eventually be located at 91°W and will join Intelsat's coveted North American cable community within its Galaxy fleet comprised of 15 other satellites that cover North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Once on station, the satellite will offer fresh capacity with its 24 C- and 24 Ku-band transponders for Intelsat's video, corporate and consumer broadband customers in North America and in the Caribbean. This was Intelsat's first satellite launch of 2007. Intelsat expects two further launches this year, Intelsat 11 and Horizons 2, the second satellite to be launched pursuant to its joint venture with JSAT. The Intelsat 11 is scheduled to launch in September 2007 on an Ariane rocket. The launch date for the Horizons 2 satellite has been rescheduled for an Ariane launch expected in late 2007.

Intelsat, Ltd. CEO David McGlade stated, "With all the tests successfully completed and operations on track, Galaxy 17 enters service in a market with strong demand from customers seeking new C- and Ku-band capacity in North America. The 91°W orbital location, where Galaxy 17 will eventually reside, is ideal for serving the media community, and is also well positioned to serve the data network and government markets."

Galaxy 17 is the 52nd satellite in Intelsat's operational fleet.

Source: Intelsat