Intelsat 29e due for late January launch

Intelsat’s new Intelsat 29e satellite, which will provide coverage over Latin America, is due to launch on January 27.

The multi-spot beam, Ku-band, high throughput satellite – the first of Intelsat’s new EpicNG line of satellites – has arrived at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will undergo final preparations before launch.

Intelsat 29e will bring high throughput capacity in both the C- and Ku-bands to North and Latin America and the North Atlantic region, and is designed to be interoperable with Intelsat’s already-deployed satellite fleet and terrestrial infrastructure.

It will be placed at the 310° East orbital location, where it will undergo in-orbit testing prior to its expected in-service date of mid-2016.

The news comes just days after rival satellite operator SES said it is planning a mid-January launch for its new SES-9 satellite, which will be positioned at 108.2 degrees East and provide replacement and incremental video capacity over Asia.