Baikonur Puts Out Welcome Mat for Asia Sat 5

They have arrived and now AsiaSat 5, a new communications satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), has settled in at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for launch by a Proton launch vehicle currently scheduled for early to mid-August.

Right: Loading the AsiaSat 5 spacecraft into the container at SS/L‟s manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California, USA: Photo courtesy of Space Systems/Loral

AsiaSat 5 is a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East. The spacecraft, based on Space Systems/Loral's 1300 satellite bus, is designed to provide advanced satellite services including television broadcast, telephone networks and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across Asia Pacific.

Left: Offloading the AsiaSat 5 spacecraft container at Yubileiny Airfield in Baikonur Photo courtesy of ILS International Launch Services

“AsiaSat 5 will become the newest member of the AsiaSat fleet to help us continue our mission of providing first-class regional satellite services to Asia Pacific. Equipped with the latest but proven technologies, improved and new beam coverage on AsiaSat 5, we look forward to serving existing and future clients with enhanced power, connectivity and network flexibility,” said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.

AsiaSat 5 will carry 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, and has an estimated operational life of 15 years. It will offer an enhanced pan Asian C-band footprint that covers more than 53 countries spanning from Russia to New Zealand and from Japan to the Middle East and parts of Africa. Its Ku-band coverage will consist of two high-power fixed Ku-band beams over East Asia and South Asia, and an in-orbit steerable Ku beam. The three Ku-band beams are designed with switching capability to switch any uplink to any downlink beam to meet specific application requirements.