Boeing Satellite Systems recently shipped the second of four 702MP satellites it is building for Intelsat to the Long Beach, Calif., home port of Sea Launch AG in preparation for a third-quarter launch aboard a Zenit 3SL rocket, Boeing said in an Aug. 1 press release.
The Intelsat 21 spacecraft will be launched from Sea Launch’s floating platform at a spot near the equator. The satellite will replace the Intelsat 9 satellite at 302 degrees east longitude, providing video services in Latin America and the Caribbean, Boeing said.
Intelsat of Washington and Luxembourg became the inaugural customer for the Boeing 702MP — a variant of the company’s 702 satellite line featuring an upgraded platform structure and simplified propulsion system — with a $500 million, four-satellite order placed in 2009. The first of those satellites, Intelsat 22, was launched in March aboard an International Launch Services Proton rocket.
“We continue to deliver the 702MPs for Intelsat on or ahead of schedule, thanks to the satellite’s modular design and our focus on continuous improvement,” Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems of Seal Beach, Calif., said in a prepared statement. “With the first satellite, Intelsat 22, on orbit and performing as predicted, we are pleased to advance to this next step in Intelsat’s quest to expand its global capacity.”