Ariane Flight VA228

with Intelsat 29e

Relive this launch

More about this launch

Press release: Flight VA228: The successful launch of Intelsat 29e, and Ariane 5’s 70th success in a row

Launch vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA

Launch date: January 27, 2016

Status: Success

Payload(s): Intelsat 29e

Customer(s): Intelsat

Prime contractor(s): Boeing

Launch site: Spaceport, French Guiana (Guiana Space Center)

Orbit: Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)

Arianespace’s first launch of 2016 will use an Ariane 5 rocket to orbit the Intelsat 29e satellite for Intelsat. This global international operator is a long-standing partner of Arianespace, in a relation spanning more than 30 years.

Intelsat 29e is the first satellite in the company’s next-generation, high throughput Intelsat EPIC^NGseries.

With this mission – the 273^rd by its family of launchers, Arianespace kicks off another busy year of mission activity, establishing an objective of 11 launches; including as many as eight by Ariane 5.

Payload

Intelsat 29e

Intelsat 29e will be the 56th Intelsat satellite launched by Arianespace, starting with the Intelsat 507 spacecraft in October 1983.

Since then, Arianespace and Intelsat – the world’s leading provider of satellite services in terms of sales and in-orbit capacity – have developed a very fruitful partnership. For example, half of Intelsat’s satellites now in operation were launched by Arianespace.

With its fleet of approximately 50 satellites, Intelsat provides high-performance connectivity solutions for the media, fixed and mobile broadband communications; along with business, government and military applications.

Intelsat 29e is the first satellite in the company’s new-generation Intelsat EpicNG series, dedi-cated to very-high-speed fixed and mobile communications in the C, Ku and Ka bands. It will offer throughput of 25 to 30 gigabits per second in coverage over the Americas and the North Atlantic (for maritime and aviation routes).

Three more Intelsat satellites currently are in Arianespace’s launch manifest: two from the new Intelsat EpicNG series, and Intelsat 36. The second EpicNG relay platform (Intelsat 33e) and Intelsat 36 will be launched during 2016.

Intelsat 29e was built by Boeing using a Boeing 702MP platform. It will be the 51st Boeing-built satellite to be launched by Arianespace. The Arianespace launch manifest includes four more Boeing satellites: the two Intelsat EpicNG models, along with SES-15 and one “undisclosed” satellite.