Loral-Built Telstar 18 Satellite Sets Sail For Late June Launch

SPACEMART

Sea Launch photo

New York (SPX) Jun 21, 2004
Loral Space & Communications today announced that the Telstar 18 satellite has set sail aboard Sea Launch's Odyssey Launch Platform, bound for its equatorial launch site in the Pacific Ocean. Lift-off aboard a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket is scheduled for June 28, 2004.

"When it enters service in August, the Telstar 18 satellite will add substantial capacity in Asia, one of Loral's most successful FSS markets," said Terry Hart, president, Loral Skynet. "Telstar 18 will join the already in-orbit Telstar 10 in serving Asia, offering cable, broadcast and SkyReach IP service connectivity stretching from Europe, through Asia and Australia, then on to the U.S. via Hawaii."

Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and operated by Loral Skynet - both subsidiaries of Loral Space & Communications - Telstar 18 will be located at 138 degrees East longitude and carry a total of 54 active transponders, sixteen high-power Ku-band transponders and thirty-eight C-band transponders.

In consideration for funding a portion of the satellite project's cost, APT Satellite Company Limited, Hong Kong, will initially acquire use of 68.5 percent of Telstar 18's capacity for Apstar V services. The number of transponders used by APT will be reduced over time, ultimately to 54 percent of the satellite's capacity. For more information on APT, visit www.apstar.com.

In addition to transmitting cable programming and direct-to-home broadcasting services, Telstar 18 will host Skynet's SkyReach two-way IP-based end-to-end networking solution. SkyReach(SM), which is already available and in use by several customers throughout the Americas, allows organizations to create an instant infrastructure using a VSAT network, connecting offices within a city or around the globe.

Telstar 18 is a version of SS/L's space-proven 1300 satellite platform, which has an excellent record of reliable operation. The geostationary 1300 has a designed service life of 13 years and maintains station-keeping and orbital stability by using bipropellant propulsion and momentum-bias systems. In all, SS/L satellites have amassed more than 1,000 years of on-orbit service.

Loral's other Asian satellite, Telstar 10/Apstar IIR, is operating at 76.5 degrees East longitude and is more than 80 percent utilized. Telstar 10 provides service for data applications throughout the region and also hosts one of the largest video communities in Asia.

SPACEMART

New-Generation Broadcasting Satellite System To Be Built

Beijing Jun 16, 2004
China's new-generation broadcasting satellite system will be put into operation in 2006, which will satisfy the demand of 280 million farmers who do not have access to television programs, Chinese satellite communications officials said Monday.

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