Tuesday night, a successful launch orbited Galaxy
XIII/Horizons-1, a Boeing 601HP satellite built by Boeing for
PanAmSat Corporation, Wilton, Conn., and JSAT Corporation of Japan.
The satellite will provide coverage over North America, Central
America, Alaska and Hawaii from an orbital slot between the
Hawaiian Islands and the U.S. west coast.
The 8,998 lb satellite rocketed to geosynchronous transfer orbit
aboard a Zenit-3SL provided by Sea Launch Company, LLC. Lift-off
occurred at 9:03 p.m. PDT (4:03 a.m. GMT) from the Sea Launch
Odyssey Launch Platform positioned on the equator in the Pacific
Ocean. The spacecraft received its first signals at about 10:03
p.m. PDT at a ground station at Fucino, Italy, confirming normal
operation.
"Communications satellites have erased the distance between the
far corners of the globe," said Dave Ryan, president of Boeing
Satellite Systems International, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Boeing. "Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 will continue that heritage as it
also links the aspirations of PanAmSat and JSAT, who will use it to
deliver trans-Pacific communications services. We are very proud to
continue our legacy of teamwork with these two very important long
time customers."
Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 with a final orbit slot at 127 degrees
west longitude is the 207th Boeing-built commercial communications
satellite launched to date. Forty years ago this year, the
Boeing-built Syncom ushered in a revolution as the world's first
geosynchronous communications satellite.
Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1 will support PanAmSat's domestic cable
program distribution services as well as the Horizons international
joint venture of PanAmSat and JSAT. The spacecraft will carry a
total of 48 active transponders, 24 each in Ku-band and C-band. The
Horizons partnership will use the spacecraft's Ku-band payload,
known as Horizons-1, to offer a variety of digital video, Internet
and data services. In addition, the Ku-band payload on Galaxy
XIII/Horizons-1 will be able to deliver content and services
between the United States and Asia, using a teleport in Hawaii.
The C-band portion of the new spacecraft, known as Galaxy XIII,
will be operated separately as part of PanAmSat's Galaxy cable
neighborhood, which serves the domestic U.S. cable industry. Galaxy
XIII will be used to replace capacity on Galaxy IX, a Boeing 376
model that will move to a new orbital position and continue to
provide services.
Klyde Morris (05.02.25)
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