TANEGASHIMA, Japan, Nov. 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telesat, a leading global satellite operator, announced today the successful launch of its new Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellite aboard a rocket provided by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). Telstar 12 VANTAGE was built by Airbus Defence and Space and is the first of a new generation of Telesat satellites with capacity optimized to serve the types of bandwidth intensive applications increasingly in demand by users.
Operating from Telesat’s prime orbital location of 15 degrees West, Telstar 12 VANTAGE will utilize a combination of broad regional beams and high throughput spot beams to increase capacity and offer superior performance for broadcasters as well as enterprise networks on the ground, in the air and at sea. The satellite will use Ku-band for all customer services assuring backward compatibility with existing Ku-band terminal equipment.
Telstar 12 VANTAGE replaces and expands on Telesat’s Telstar 12 satellite. Telstar 12 has long been valued by the satellite user community for its ability to seamlessly connect the Americas to Europe and the Middle East from 15 West, one of the few orbital locations that enables such coverage. With Telstar 12 VANTAGE, customers in mobility, government, and energy markets will now have even greater service options between EMEA and the Americas along with powerful new beams over Brazil, Sub-Saharan Africa, the South Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and North Sea.
“Telstar 12 VANTAGE marks another advance in Telesat’s record of innovative payload designs and provides our customers with the advantages they need to compete successfully in today’s satellite service markets,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “Telesat is pleased to be building on our leadership in mobility services, both maritime and aero, with powerful new coverage over the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the South Atlantic. We would like to thank our valued partners – MHI and Airbus Defence and Space – for the successful and timely launch of Telesat’s Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellite.”
Telesat’s Newest Satellite
Telstar 12 VANTAGE was launched aboard MHI’s upgraded H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 29 (H-IIA F29) from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan today at 3:50 p.m. local time. The satellite separated from the upper stage of the rocket and its signal was acquired by Telesat’s tracking station in Allan Park, Canada, shortly after spacecraft separation, about four and one half hours after liftoff. This was MHI’s first launch of a commercial satellite, though they have had many prior successful missions.
Telstar 12 VANTAGE was built by Airbus Defence and Space using their highly-reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite has a mass of approximately 4800 kg and a 15 year design life.
About Telesat (www.telesat.com)
Telesat is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, the company’s state-of-the-art fleet will grow to 15 satellites once Telstar 12 VANTAGE is brought into service, plus the Canadian Ka-band payload on ViaSat-1. Telesat also manages the operations of additional satellites for third parties. Privately held, Telesat’s principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL ). Forward-Looking Statements Safe Harbor
This news release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are ‘‘forward-looking statements’’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words “expected”, “will”, or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Detailed information about some of the known risks and uncertainties is included in the “Risk Factors” section of Telesat Holdings Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 as well as Telesat’s other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which can be obtained on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov . Known risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: risks associated with operating satellites and providing satellite services, including satellite construction or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit failures or impaired satellite performance, volatility in exchange rates and risks associated with domestic and foreign government regulation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. The information contained in this news release reflects Telesat’s beliefs, assumptions, intentions, plans and expectations as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, Telesat disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise the information herein.
For further information: Gerry Nagler, Telesat +1 908 470-4907 (gnagler@telesat.com)
