KOUROU, French Guiana - The largest and most powerful commercial communications satellite ever made is scheduled to be launched Tuesday night at 7:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time by a European-made Ariane rocket, setting the stage for an unprecedented expansion of the fleet of communication satellites operated by PanAmSat.
The most powerful Ariane 4 version, the 44-L -- the original of which was first used 20 years ago -- will deploy the 9,886-pound U.S. satellite, built by Hughes Space & Communications, into an initial geostationary transfer orbit over the Galapagos Islands.
The satellite will provide television and cable TV distribution, telephone and internet services to North America and Brazil for at least 15 years.
"Galaxy 11 marks a new era for PanAmSat as we unveil the beginning of next-generation satellite services for our customers in North America and around the world," said Robert A. Bednarek, PanAmSat's executive vice president and chief technology officer. "With the launch of Galaxy 11, PanAmSat will begin the most ambitious satellite expansion and backup plan in the industry, providing increased fleet redundancy, enhanced flexibility and expanded global capacity."
This new Hughes class of satellite, called HS 702, is able to provide for the first time 64 transponders, instead of 48 on previous satellites, with an unprecedented power of 10,700 watts.
"With more electrical power, you can have more transmitters on board and you can have more customers," says George Torres, senior vice president for Hughes Space & Communications. "With such a more cost-effective satellite, PanAmSat operator can serve more regions with one single satellite. It would have taken two satellites before to get the same amount of power and capability than you can get now, and here you have one satellite, one rocket and one launch."
PanAmSat commissioned the new class-type satellite to position itself for market growth in the booming demand for video, telephone and data distribution over North America and Brazil.
The cable companies, major television networks and internet providers will be able to get the signal from the satellite to deliver it to their customers in United States and Brazil.
"We know that there are many markets for this satellite," said Douglas Kahn, president and CEO of PanAmSat company, based in Greenwich, Connecticut. "This Galaxy 11, together with its cost of launch and insurance, represents an investment on our part in excess of $300 million. This is a high risk-high-return business. Its not often that a company chooses to invest $300 million and finds out within hours if this investment pays off."
Six state-of-the-art communications satellites
This new Galaxy, which is the 10th satellite in PanAmSat's U.S. fleet and its 20th worldwide, is using state-of-the-art technologies inaugurating a new class of six additional satellites to be placed into orbit by mid-2001.
"This is a high risk-high return business. Its not often that a companychooses to invest $300 million and finds out within hours if this investment pays off."
Not only is it the heaviest commercial communication satellite ever made, but it is also the largest, with a wingspan of 102 feet in length and 29.5 feet wide, once deployed.
Among other innovations, the satellite will use the revolutionary xenon ion propulsion system, or XIPS, which is 10 times more efficient than conventional chemical propulsion.
Measuring less than 17 inches across, this kind of electrical propulsion system allows a gain in propellant mass of up to 90% for a satellite designed for 15 years operation like this one. Its thrusters require only 10 pounds of xenon fuel per year. Less propellant results in reduced cost for launch, and an increase in payload.
The satellite is equipped with angled solar reflector panels, highly efficient dual-junction solar cells, which doubles the solar power received from the sun. In order to handle heat generated by the higher-power satellite, the heat radiators have been enlarged and can take different positions.
All theses advanced technologies have been recently tested on satellite, but Galaxy 11 is the first one to combine all of them.
The largest geostationary satellite network
PanAmSat's Galaxy 11 is the 14th PanAmSat satellite put aloft by the European Ariane launcher in 12 years, following PanAmSat 1 through 4, 6, 6-B, 3-R and 7, Galaxy 4, 6 and 7, and SBS 5 and 6. Arianespace has worked closely with PanAmSat, and this Galaxy 11 launch will mark a particularly active stage in their relationship.
"This new type of satellite opens a new era in satellite technology -- its similar to Arianespace which has just initiated [on] December 10 the commercial use of its new heavy launcher Ariane 5," says Torres. "On both sides, we are bringing new ways to face the growing demand for bigger and more complex satellites."
Galaxy 11 is the 26th Hughes satellite built for PanAmSat, six more are in construction in suburban Los Angeles. It will be launched by an Ariane 4, which has been the highly successful workhorse of privately operated Arianespace for the past 11 years allowing it to hold 60 percent of the international civilian launch market.
Arianespace has scheduled three launches for the American PanAmSat operator in five months, kicking off the new year with a January launch of Galaxy 10, also built by Hughes Space & Communications. PanAmSat plans to use four Arianes, one Russian Proton rocket, one Sea Launch rocket and one that has not been yet chosen for its next seven satellites.
With the launch of Galaxy 11, PanAmSat initiates an ambitious growth plan. By mid-2001, its seven new domestic U.S. and international satellites will comprise a global fleet of 25 spacecraft, the largest geostationary satellite network in the world.
PanAmSat is already the world's leading commercial provider of global satellite-based communications services. The company operates a global network of 19 satellites and its revenue reached $767 million in 1998. Of these revenues, 75 percent come from television services.
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