Intelsat 29e Boeing 702MP

Satellite operator Intelsat has selected Boeing 702MP platform for its 29e satellite, the first of the company’s EpicNG next-generation systems.

Intelsat 29e is scheduled to be launched in 2015 to provide high-performance communications coverage spanning North and South America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the North Atlantic aeronautical route between North America and Europe.

Intelsat EpicNG is intended to address wireless and fixed telecommunications, enterprise, mobility, video and government applications that need broadband infrastructure.

Company senior vice president and chief technical officer Thierry Guillemin said the Boeing 702MP platform was selected to suit the EpicNG platform’s ability to use multiple frequency bands, wide beams and spot beams with a high degree of flexibility and connectivity.

"We selected Boeing because they were able to meet this challenge," Guillemin said.

"Its architecture combines multi-band frequency reuse with the benefits of backward and forward compatibility, resulting in a high-performance solution not previously available in the commercial satellite sector."

He also noted that its customers required an advanced architecture designed specifically to meet their fixed and mobile communications needs.

"Its architecture combines multi-band frequency reuse with the benefits of backward and forward compatibility, resulting in a high-performance solution not previously available in the commercial satellite sector," he added.

Boeing Satellite Systems International CEO and Space and Intelligence Systems vice president and general manager Craig Cooning said Intelsat’s choice of the 702MP for the first Intelsat EpicNG satellite reflected the company’s commitment to meeting the advanced requirements of next-generation technologies.

With Intelsat 29e, Intelsat completes its four-satellite order with Boeing.

Recently, Intelsat 21, which was launched by a Sea Launch rocket, is now fully deployed and is undergoing in-orbit testing, while the third satellite, Intelsat 27, will be launch in the first quarter of 2013.

Image: Boeing 702MP has been selected by Intelsat for the Intelsat 29e satellite, the first of the recently announced Intelsat EpicNG next-generation high-performance system. Photo: courtesy of Boeing.