Arianespace completes triple mission with Ariane 5 rocket

Arianespace successfully orbited two telecommunications satellites and one satellite servicing vehicle for Intelsat, B-SAT and Northrop Grumman using an Ariane 5 rocket launched from the Guiana Space Center.

The Galaxy 30 UHD video distribution/broadcast and broadband satellite, built for global network operator Intelsat, will cover North America. It is the first satellite in Intelsat’s Galaxy fleet refresh plan and will replace Galaxy 14 at 125 degrees west once it is in service in early 2021.

Intelsat also said Galaxy 30 will play an important role in its U.S. C-band spectrum transition plan, which is accelerating America’s path to 5G. Intelsat is facilitating the work of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in transitioning and safeguarding media services currently utilizing the lower portion of the band to make way for 5G wireless services. Intelsat is not seeking any reimbursement costs from the FCC’s public auction proceeds for any aspect of the Galaxy 30 launch or relocation.

BSAT-4b will be used for Ultra-High-Definition (UHD, 4K and 8K) direct-to-home television broadcasting across Japan, in conjunction with its twin, BSAT-4a, launched by Arianespace in 2017.