Inmarsat's launches first satellite for GX Ka-band service

Inmarsat's first I-5 Global Xpress Ka-band satellite was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 8 December aboard a Proton Breeze M rocket.

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The six-tonne satellite has 89 Ka-band beams and is designed to generate approximately 15 kilowatts of power at the start of service. It has two solar-cell wings with a similar span to a Boeing 737.
 
By the end of December, the satellite will have completed deployment of its solar arrays and reflectors. This will be followed by the electrical plasma thruster orbit-raising phase, taking the spacecraft to its final geostationary orbit. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of January, with payload testing at the beginning of February.
 
The launch was a milestone in the development of the company's GX Aviation service, which will provide the airlines and aircraft operators with the first global high-speed mobile broadband service.
 
By the end of 2014, the fleet will comprise three high-throughput satellites and GX Aviation will offer seamless global Ka-band coverage from a single operator, with performance of up to around 40Mbps to an airliner.
 
In addition to passenger communications, it will support real-time TV and live feeds from the internet.
 
Miranda Mills, Inmarsat president, aviation said: “We are getting closer and closer to the introduction of GX Aviation. It will revolutionise inflight connectivity for both passengers and crew. The successful launch of this satellite means that we are well on track to providing the world’s first globally available, high speed mobile broadband service in 2015.”
 
The I-5 satellites are built by Boeing and based on the 702HP design. Inmarsat-5 F1 is part of a US$1.6 billion investment by Inmarsat into the next generation of global mobile broadband communications.

 

Steve Nichols

Steve Nichols

Steve (BSc Hons, FIIC) is a journalist and communicator with more than 35 years' experience.