Mary-Louise Hoffman
A telecommunications satellite that Boeing built for Intelsat lifted off Wednesday from a French Guiana spaceport aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.
Intelsat 29e launched into space at 6:20 p.m. Eastern Time and began to transmit initial signals to a ground station nearly 40 minutes after liftoff, Intelsat said Wednesday.
It is the first satellite in Intelsat’s EpicNG constellation and is designed to facilitate C-band and Ku-band connectivity for enterprise and government users in the North Atlantic as well as in Latin and North America regions.
Intelsat 29e is equipped with Boeing-made digital payload technology that will work to also support Internet of Things, wireless infrastructure and maritime and aeronautical mobility applications.
The spacecraft also incorporates a 16-engine propulsion system manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Boeing said Wednesday it is working on a second telecommunications satellite for Intelsat under a six-satellite development contract.
The satellite company plans to launch Intelsat 33e in the third quarter of this year to provide high-throughput connectivity services to clients in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
