The AsiaSat 5 satellite will launch on an ILS Proton lifter in the July-September quarter, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) announced.
Previously, the company had announced AsiaSat 5 would launch on a Zenit-3SLB rocket offered by Land Launch, affiliated with Sea Launch.
In the latest announcement last week, AsiaSat contracted with International Launch Services (ILS), a Russian-U.S. company offering Proton launch vehicles, to orbit the bird on one of the lifters.
The satellite is under construction by Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, Calif., and is expected to be delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early this summer. ILS and Khrunichev are implementing a mission integration schedule to support a third quarter launch. AsiaSat 5 will replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East.
The new AsiaSat 5 will offer an enhanced pan Asian C-band footprint and high-power Ku-band beams over East Asia, South Asia, and an in-orbit steerable Ku beam. That satellite is a Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform, designed for a lifespan of 15 years.
Station-keeping lifetime of the satellite should be greatly improved due to the available performance of the Proton launch vehicle. Frank McKenna, president of ILS said, “This was truly a win-win situation. Due to another customer’s change in plans we have hardware and manifest availability to support AsiaSat’s schedule needs.”
The satellite will reside at 100.5 degrees East.