Telesat's Nimiq 4 satellite has successfully completed in-orbit tests and has been placed at the 82 degreesW orbital slot. The satellite was formally handed over to Telesat Canada by satellite manufacturer Astrium as part of the in-orbit delivery contract.

The Astrium team in Toulouse took control and began operating the Nimiq 4 satellite following its launch on 20 September 2008 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The satellite arrived in geostationary orbit on 24 September and, after full deployment of its antenna reflectors and 39m wingspan solar array, began in-orbit platform tests, swiftly followed by thorough payload tests conducted from Telesat's operations station in Allan Park, Ontario.

All spacecraft functions are performing fully as expected. Telesat has now officially taken possession of its new satellite and commenced operational service.

Nimiq 4 will offer high definition television (HDTV), specialty television and foreign language programming in North America. It features 32 active high-power transponders in Ku-band and 8 in Ka-band. Its multi-spot Ka-band payload provides coverage of the most densely populated regions of Canada.

Nimiq 4 is the third Eurostar E3000 satellite delivered in orbit by Astrium to Telesat following Anik F1R in 2005 and Anik F3 in 2007. A total of 25 Eurostar E3000 satellites have been ordered so far with 13 now operating in orbit and two more to be launched later this year.