Arianespace announced 2 April that during the third quarter of this year its Ariane 5 rocket will launch the Horizons-2 spacecraft for Horizons Satellite and Intelsat's Intelsat-11 vehicle. Horizons Satellite is a joint venture between satellite service provider Intelsat and Asia-Pacific satellite operator JSAT.
Launched by the Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana the two spacecraft will be placed in geostationary transfer orbit. The 2,350kg (5,170lb) Horizons-2 will occupy an orbital slot at 74 degrees west longitude, and the 2,500kg Intelsat-11 will be located at 43 degrees west longitude.
Both spacecraft were built by Orbital Sciences and Horizons-2 uses 20 Ku-band transponders and generates 3.5kW of payload power. It will provide digital video, high-definition television and internet protocol based content distribution networks to broadband internet and satellite news services in the US, the Caribbean and parts of Canada. Intelsat-11's 34 transponders will provide direct-to-home broadcasting and data networking services to Latin America.
Arianespace has launched 38 payloads for Intelsat since 1983 and JSAT's JCSAT-10 was orbited by Ariane 5 in August 2006.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
