Space Systems/Loral has announced that the HISPASAT 1E satellite, designed and built for the HISPASAT Group, is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan.

The satellite deployed its solar arrays Tuesday afternoon, following its successful launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Later, it will fire its main thruster in order to begin.

"HISPASAT 1E is the fifth SS/L satellite to launch in 2010 and it marks another milestone in broadening the availability of entertainment, information and social services around the world," said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral.

"I would like to thank all of the excellent engineers and technicians at HISPASAT, Arianespace and SS/L, who have worked very hard to make this launch a success."

HISPASAT 1E will be positioned at 30 degrees West longitude following completion of in-orbit test. It has a total of 53 high-power Ku-band transponders and is designed to provide customers with Direct to Home Television (DTH), Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), value added broadband services in mobile, land and maritime environments, and high definition television (HDTV) in Europe, the Americas, and North Africa.

Petra Mateos, Chairman of HISPASAT, "With this new satellite, the second of five planned for the coming years, HISPASAT strengthens its leadership in Spanish and Portuguese markets. The HISPASAT 1E satellite is a very technologically advanced, high performance satellite that includes a significant participation by the Spanish space industry, with high-technology returns for the sector."

HISPASAT 1E is based on the highly reliable Space Systems/Loral 1300 space-proven platform which is designed with the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. With this launch, Space Systems/Loral now has 65 geostationary satellites on orbit.