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94-682: Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia , United States. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization ( ITSO , or Intelsat ), from 1964 to 2001, it was an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international telecommunications and broadcast services. In March 2023, rival satellite operator SES confirmed that it

188-413: A Delta D rocket . In 1973, the name was changed and there were 81 signatories. Intelsat was "governed initially by two international agreements: The Agreement setting forth the basic provisions and principles and structure of the organization, signed by the governments through their foreign ministries , and an Operating Agreement setting forth more detailed financial and technical provisions and signed by

282-591: A Diamant A rocket launched from the CIEES site at Hammaguir , Algeria . With Astérix, France became the sixth country to have an artificial satellite. Early satellites were built to unique designs. With advancements in technology, multiple satellites began to be built on single model platforms called satellite buses . The first standardized satellite bus design was the HS-333 geosynchronous (GEO) communication satellite launched in 1972. Beginning in 1997, FreeFlyer

376-414: A catalyst . The most commonly used propellant mixtures on satellites are hydrazine -based monopropellants or monomethylhydrazine – dinitrogen tetroxide bipropellants. Ion thrusters on satellites usually are Hall-effect thrusters , which generate thrust by accelerating positive ions through a negatively-charged grid. Ion propulsion is more efficient propellant-wise than chemical propulsion but its thrust

470-813: A halo orbit , three for a Lissajous orbit ). Earth observation satellites gather information for reconnaissance , mapping , monitoring the weather , ocean, forest, etc. Space telescopes take advantage of outer space's near perfect vacuum to observe objects with the entire electromagnetic spectrum . Because satellites can see a large portion of the Earth at once, communications satellites can relay information to remote places. The signal delay from satellites and their orbit's predictability are used in satellite navigation systems, such as GPS. Space probes are satellites designed for robotic space exploration outside of Earth, and space stations are in essence crewed satellites. The first artificial satellite launched into

564-409: A transponder ; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth . Communications satellites are used for television , telephone , radio , internet , and military applications. Many communications satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator , so that the satellite appears stationary at

658-591: A Satellite Vehicle", by R. R. Carhart. This expanded on potential scientific uses for satellite vehicles and was followed in June 1955 with "The Scientific Use of an Artificial Satellite", by H. K. Kallmann and W. W. Kellogg. The first artificial satellite was Sputnik 1 , launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 under the Sputnik program , with Sergei Korolev as chief designer. Sputnik 1 helped to identify

752-453: A U.S. Scout rocket from Wallops Island (Virginia, United States) with an Italian launch team trained by NASA . In similar occasions, almost all further first national satellites were launched by foreign rockets. France was the third country to launch a satellite on its own rocket. On 26 November 1965, the Astérix or A-1 (initially conceptualized as FR.2 or FR-2), was put into orbit by

846-405: A bandwidth of tens of megahertz. Satellites are placed from the surface to the orbit by launch vehicles , high enough to avoid orbital decay by the atmosphere . Satellites can then change or maintain the orbit by propulsion , usually by chemical or ion thrusters . As of 2018, about 90% of the satellites orbiting the Earth are in low Earth orbit or geostationary orbit ; geostationary means

940-424: A contract with SpaceX for one of the first Falcon Heavy launch vehicles , marking the return of Intelsat to American launchers after many flights on Atlas II in the 1990s and a single Atlas V launch in 2009. Satellite This is an accepted version of this page A satellite or artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft , placed into orbit around a celestial body . They have

1034-480: A cost of some US$ 1.6 billion. The technology could compress existing licensed C-band spectrum customers into just forty per cent of the spectrum used in 2019. The release of spectrum would enable the company to receive up to US$ 4.86 billion in "spectrum clearing payments" from the FCC for clearing the spectrum by December 2023, two years ahead of the FCC baseline plan. On 24 February 2022, Intelsat emerged from Chapter 11 as

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1128-552: A global communications satellite system, and structurally consisted of three parts: The 1973 Agreement called for a seven-year transition from national to international management, but continued until 1976 to carve out "technical and operational management of the system [to the U.S. signatory] the Communications Satellite Corporation [which had also] served as the Manager of the global system under

1222-472: A load of 200 kg (440 lb) of fuel delivered to each satellite would add somewhere between two and four years of additional service life. A near-end-of-life Intelsat satellite will be moved to a graveyard orbit 200 to 300 km (120–190 mi) above the geostationary belt where the refueling will be done, "without consequence" to the Intelsat business. As of March 2010, the business model

1316-484: A method of communication to ground stations , called transponders . Many satellites use a standardized bus to save cost and work, the most popular of which are small CubeSats . Similar satellites can work together as groups, forming constellations . Because of the high launch cost to space, most satellites are designed to be as lightweight and robust as possible. Most communication satellites are radio relay stations in orbit and carry dozens of transponders, each with

1410-406: A private Dutch entity, New Skies Satellites , which became a direct competitor to Intelsat. On 18 July 2001, Intelsat became a private company, 37 years after formation. Prior to Intelsat's privatization in 2001, ownership and investment in Intelsat (measured in shares) was distributed among Intelsat members according to their use of services. Investment shares determined each member's percentage of

1504-573: A private company with a strengthened capital structure which reduced debt by more than half, from approximately $ 16 billion to $ 7 billion. The company’s plan of reorganization was supported by all creditors and confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on 16 December 2021. In connection with the emergence from bankruptcy, Intelsat also obtained $ 6.7 billion in new financing including a revolving credit facility, term loan, and secured notes. According to then company CEO, Stephen Spengler, post bankruptcy,

1598-619: A refueling payload to extend the life of satellites that are low on propellant. SSL joined the Naval Research Laboratory, the Charles Draper Laboratory and Maxar's robotics divisions in Brampton, Ontario and Pasadena to develop the servicer. The servicer is designed to refuel commercial satellites, and global satellite operator SES is the first commercial customer to sign up to use the services for

1692-418: A satellite's lifetime. Resource use is difficult to monitor and quantify for satellites and launch vehicles due to their commercially sensitive nature. However, aluminium is a preferred metal in satellite construction due to its lightweight and relative cheapness and typically constitutes around 40% of a satellite's mass. Through mining and refining, aluminium has numerous negative environmental impacts and

1786-612: A small part of the target spacecraft's thermal protection blanket, connect to a fuel-pressure line and deliver the propellant. "MDA officials estimate the docking maneuver would take the communications satellite out of service for about 20 minutes". On 25 February 2020, a Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft, Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV 1) docked with the Intelsat 901 satellite. The MEV 1 spacecraft will provide propulsion capabilities to Intelsat 901 to extend its usable life for five years. On 1 February 2007, Intelsat changed

1880-449: A thin cable called a tether . Recovery satellites are satellites that provide a recovery of reconnaissance, biological, space-production and other payloads from orbit to Earth. Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific experimentation. Space-based solar power satellites are proposed satellites that would collect energy from sunlight and transmit it for use on Earth or other places. Since

1974-600: A thought experiment by Isaac Newton to explain the motion of natural satellites , in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687). The first fictional depiction of a satellite being launched into orbit was a short story by Edward Everett Hale , " The Brick Moon " (1869). The idea surfaced again in Jules Verne 's The Begum's Fortune (1879). In 1903, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) published Exploring Space Using Jet Propulsion Devices , which

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2068-624: A variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting , navigation ( GPS ), broadcasting , scientific research, and Earth observation. Additional military uses are reconnaissance, early warning , signals intelligence and, potentially, weapon delivery. Other satellites include the final rocket stages that place satellites in orbit and formerly useful satellites that later become defunct. Except for passive satellites , most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Most satellites also have

2162-486: A year later, John F. Kennedy signed the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 . Intelsat was originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) and operated from 1964 to 2001 as an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast services. In 2001, the international satellite market

2256-400: Is a commercial off-the-shelf software application for satellite mission analysis, design, and operations. After the late 2010s, and especially after the advent and operational fielding of large satellite internet constellations —where on-orbit active satellites more than doubled over a period of five years—the companies building the constellations began to propose regular planned deorbiting of

2350-610: Is currently unclear. The visibility of man-made objects in the night sky may also impact people's linkages with the world, nature, and culture. At all points of a satellite's lifetime, its movement and processes are monitored on the ground through a network of facilities. The environmental cost of the infrastructure as well as day-to-day operations is likely to be quite high, but quantification requires further investigation. Particular threats arise from uncontrolled de-orbit. Some notable satellite failures that polluted and dispersed radioactive materials are Kosmos 954 , Kosmos 1402 and

2444-399: Is dependent on rocket design and fuel type. The amount of green house gases emitted by rockets is considered trivial as it contributes significantly less, around 0.01%, than the aviation industry yearly which itself accounts for 2-3% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions. Rocket emissions in the stratosphere and their effects are only beginning to be studied and it is likely that

2538-473: Is deployed for military or intelligence purposes, it is known as a spy satellite or reconnaissance satellite. Their uses include early missile warning, nuclear explosion detection, electronic reconnaissance, and optical or radar imaging surveillance. Navigational satellites are satellites that use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between

2632-517: Is most used in archaeology , cartography , environmental monitoring , meteorology , and reconnaissance applications. As of 2021, there are over 950 Earth observation satellites, with the largest number of satellites operated with Planet Labs . Weather satellites monitor clouds , city lights , fires , effects of pollution , auroras , sand and dust storms , snow cover, ice mapping, boundaries of ocean currents , energy flows, etc. Environmental monitoring satellites can detect changes in

2726-581: Is one of the most carbon-intensive metals. Satellite manufacturing also requires rare elements such as lithium , gold , and gallium , some of which have significant environmental consequences linked to their mining and processing and/or are in limited supply. Launch vehicles require larger amounts of raw materials to manufacture and the booster stages are usually dropped into the ocean after fuel exhaustion. They are not normally recovered. Two empty boosters used for Ariane 5 , which were composed mainly of steel, weighed around 38 tons each, to give an idea of

2820-430: Is the chemical propellant used which then releases ammonia , hydrogen and nitrogen as gas into the upper atmosphere. Also, the environment of the outer atmosphere causes the degradation of exterior materials. The atomic oxygen in the upper atmosphere oxidises hydrocarbon-based polymers like Kapton , Teflon and Mylar that are used to insulate and protect the satellite which then emits gasses like CO 2 and CO into

2914-425: Is very small (around 0.5 N or 0.1 lb f ), and thus requires a longer burn time. The thrusters usually use xenon because it is inert , can be easily ionized , has a high atomic mass and storable as a high-pressure liquid. Most satellites use solar panels to generate power, and a few in deep space with limited sunlight use radioisotope thermoelectric generators . Slip rings attach solar panels to

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3008-912: The American Rocket Society , the National Science Foundation , and the International Geophysical Year, the Army and Navy worked on Project Orbiter with two competing programs. The army used the Jupiter C rocket , while the civilian–Navy program used the Vanguard rocket to launch a satellite. Explorer 1 became the United States' first artificial satellite, on 31 January 1958. The information sent back from its radiation detector led to

3102-820: The Asia-Pacific region. SSL and Constellation Services International have proposed a reusable space tug based on the 1300 platform and a pressure-fed, low-cost Aquarius Launch Vehicle . The tug would be used to bring supplies to the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. NASA eventually decided to pursue another proposal for this project. SSL, however, continues to provide Battery Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs), Battery Charge Discharge Units (BCDUs), and Sequential Shunt Units (SSUs) for

3196-607: The C-Band Alliance . The C-Band Alliance was an industry consortium of the major satellite operators. The consortium had been formed to lobby U.S. regulator , the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the reassignment and payment for the legacy 5G spectrum of its members. According to company statements, the company was hoping to restructure so that it could raise requisite capital to launch new satellite technology in 2022/2023, at

3290-586: The Chinese military shot down an aging weather satellite, followed by the US Navy shooting down a defunct spy satellite in February 2008. On 18 November 2015, after two failed attempts, Russia successfully carried out a flight test of an anti-satellite missile known as Nudol . On 27 March 2019, India shot down a live test satellite at 300 km altitude in 3 minutes, becoming the fourth country to have

3384-627: The Netherlands , Norway , Pakistan , Poland , Russia , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , Spain , Switzerland , Thailand , Turkey , Ukraine , the United Kingdom and the United States , had some satellites in orbit. Japan's space agency (JAXA) and NASA plan to send a wooden satellite prototype called LingoSat into orbit in the summer of 2024. They have been working on this project for few years and sent first wood samples to

3478-470: The Transit 5-BN-3 . When in a controlled manner satellites reach the end of life they are intentionally deorbited or moved to a graveyard orbit further away from Earth in order to reduce space debris . Physical collection or removal is not economical or even currently possible. Moving satellites out to a graveyard orbit is also unsustainable because they remain there for hundreds of years. It will lead to

3572-576: The White House announced on 29 July 1955 that the U.S. intended to launch satellites by the spring of 1958. This became known as Project Vanguard . On 31 July, the Soviet Union announced its intention to launch a satellite by the fall of 1957. Sputnik 2 was launched on 3 November 1957 and carried the first living passenger into orbit, a dog named Laika . The dog was sent without possibility of return. In early 1955, after being pressured by

3666-457: The Earth's vegetation , atmospheric trace gas content, sea state, ocean color, and ice fields. By monitoring vegetation changes over time, droughts can be monitored by comparing the current vegetation state to its long term average. Anthropogenic emissions can be monitored by evaluating data of tropospheric NO 2 and SO 2 . A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via

3760-417: The Earth's orbit was the Soviet Union 's Sputnik 1 , on October 4, 1957. As of December 31, 2022, there are 6,718 operational satellites in the Earth's orbit, of which 4,529 belong to the United States (3,996 commercial), 590 belong to China, 174 belong to Russia, and 1,425 belong to other nations. The first published mathematical study of the possibility of an artificial satellite was Newton's cannonball ,

3854-500: The Earth, called remote sensing . Most Earth observation satellites are placed in low Earth orbit for a high data resolution, though some are placed in a geostationary orbit for an uninterrupted coverage. Some satellites are placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit to have consistent lighting and obtain a total view of the Earth. Depending on the satellites' functions, they might have a normal camera , radar , lidar , photometer , or atmospheric instruments. Earth observation satellite's data

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3948-655: The European Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 launchers, and by International Launch Services (ILS) with Proton-K and Proton-M rockets manufactured by Khrunichev in Russia . Intelsat also took advantage of the equatorial Sea Launch offering with Zenit-3SL rockets launched from the Ocean Odyssey floating platform in Pacific Ocean , until they suspended operations in 2014. On 30 May 2012, Intelsat signed

4042-582: The ISS. SSL designed and delivered a propulsion system based on their 1300 platform for the NASA LADEE mission. On April 17, 2014, between 9:30 p.m and 10:22 p.m. PDT, after successfully completing its goal to collect lunar dust and study the Moon 's atmosphere, NASA 's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer ( LADEE ) spacecraft successfully completed a planned de- orbit , bringing an end to

4136-553: The Moon and the Sun. Satellites utilize ultra-white reflective coatings to prevent damage from UV radiation. Without orbit and orientation control, satellites in orbit will not be able to communicate with ground stations on the Earth. Chemical thrusters on satellites usually use monopropellant (one-part) or bipropellant (two-parts) that are hypergolic . Hypergolic means able to combust spontaneously when in contact with each other or to

4230-455: The atmosphere. Given the current surge in satellites in the sky, soon hundreds of satellites may be clearly visible to the human eye at dark sites. It is estimated that the overall levels of diffuse brightness of the night skies has increased by up to 10% above natural levels. This has the potential to confuse organisms, like insects and night-migrating birds, that use celestial patterns for migration and orientation. The impact this might have

4324-603: The atmosphere. For example, SpaceX Starlink satellites, the first large satellite internet constellation to exceed 1000 active satellites on orbit in 2020, are designed to be 100% demisable and burn up completely on their atmospheric reentry at the end of their life, or in the event of an early satellite failure. In different periods, many countries, such as Algeria , Argentina , Australia , Austria , Brazil , Canada , Chile , China , Denmark , Egypt , Finland , France , Germany , India , Iran , Israel , Italy , Japan , Kazakhstan , South Korea , Malaysia , Mexico ,

4418-447: The capability to destroy live satellites. The environmental impact of satellites is not currently well understood as they were previously assumed to be benign due to the rarity of satellite launches. However, the exponential increase and projected growth of satellite launches are bringing the issue into consideration. The main issues are resource use and the release of pollutants into the atmosphere which can happen at different stages of

4512-433: The company announced plans to procure, build and launch seven C-band satellites over the next several years. These C-band satellites will contribute to the acceleration of America's 5G buildout. In early 2022, the company announced contracts for four GEO software defined satellites (SDS), two in partnership with Airbus and two in partnership with Thales Alenia Space, that are scheduled to launch in 2023. These contracts point to

4606-801: The company plans to pursue aggressive network innovation plans, and strategic growth initiatives, including building a software-defined 5G network. The company also announced a new board of directors, led by Lisa Hammitt, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Davidson Technologies. In December 2020, Intelsat completed its acquisition of Gogo’s Commercial Aviation (CA) business. The vertical integration combined Intelsat’s next-generation global telecommunications network with Gogo CA’s customer-facing capabilities offering airlines and passengers an enhanced inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) experience. On 30 April 2024, satellite operator, SES announced that an agreement had been reached to acquire Intelsat for €2.8 billion (US$ 3.1 billion) cash, with

4700-551: The density of high atmospheric layers through measurement of its orbital change and provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere . The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1's success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the so-called Space Race within the Cold War . In the context of activities planned for the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958),

4794-546: The discovery of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts . The TIROS-1 spacecraft, launched on April 1, 1960, as part of NASA's Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) program, sent back the first television footage of weather patterns to be taken from space. In June 1961, three and a half years after the launch of Sputnik 1, the United States Space Surveillance Network cataloged 115 Earth-orbiting satellites. While Canada

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4888-484: The earth's climate. After deorbiting 70% of satellites end up in the ocean and are rarely recovered. Using wood as an alternative material has been posited in order to reduce pollution and debris from satellites that reenter the atmosphere. Space debris pose dangers to the spacecraft (including satellites) in or crossing geocentric orbits and have the potential to drive a Kessler syndrome which could potentially curtail humanity from conducting space endeavors in

4982-444: The further pollution of space and future issues with space debris. When satellites deorbit much of it is destroyed during re-entry into the atmosphere due to the heat. This introduces more material and pollutants into the atmosphere. There have been concerns expressed about the potential damage to the ozone layer and the possibility of increasing the earth's albedo , reducing warming but also resulting in accidental geoengineering of

5076-538: The future. SSL (company) SSL , formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC ( SS/L ), of Palo Alto, California , is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies . SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial customers. Its products include high-powered direct-to-home broadcast satellites, commercial weather satellites, digital audio radio satellites, Earth observation satellites and spot-beam satellites for data networking applications. The company

5170-546: The governments or their designated telecommunications entities", — in most cases, the latter are the ministries of communications of the party countries, but in the case of the United States, was the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), a private corporation established by federal legislation to represent the U.S. in international governance for the global communication satellite system. Intelsat at that time directly owned and managed

5264-412: The impact of regulated ozone-depleting substances. Whilst emissions of water vapour are largely deemed as inert, H 2 O is the source gas for HO x and can also contribute to ozone loss through the formation of ice particles. Black carbon particles emitted by rockets can absorb solar radiation in the stratosphere and cause warming in the surrounding air which can then impact the circulatory dynamics of

5358-462: The impacts will be more critical than emissions in the troposphere. The stratosphere includes the ozone layer and pollutants emitted from rockets can contribute to ozone depletion in a number of ways. Radicals such as NO x , HO x , and ClO x deplete stratospheric O 3 through intermolecular reactions and can have huge impacts in trace amounts. However, it is currently understood that launch rates would need to increase by ten times to match

5452-602: The interim arrangements in force from 1964 to 1973". Later phases of the transition resulted in full international governance by 1980. Financial contribution to the organization, its so-called "investment share", was strictly proportional to each member's use of the system, determined annually; and this corresponded to the weighted vote each would have on the Board of Governors. As of 2018, Intelsat provides service to over 600 Earth stations in more than 149 countries, territories and dependencies. By 2001, Intelsat had over 100 members. It

5546-470: The majority of its revenue from non-U.S. located customers. In addition to its satellite fleet, Intelsat owns and operates eight teleports around the world. Intelsat filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. courts on 13 May 2020, just before the new 5G spectrum auctions , with over US$ 15 billion in total debt. Public reporting showed that the company had been considering bankruptcy protection as early as February 2020, as Intelsat formally withdrew from

5640-400: The mid-2000s, satellites have been hacked by militant organizations to broadcast propaganda and to pilfer classified information from military communication networks. For testing purposes, satellites in low earth orbit have been destroyed by ballistic missiles launched from the Earth. Russia , United States , China and India have demonstrated the ability to eliminate satellites. In 2007,

5734-527: The mission to study the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere . In June 2017, SSL was awarded the contract to design and build the satellite servicing spacecraft vehicle for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program, which is designed to inspect, repair, and augment geosynchronous satellites and plans to include

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5828-725: The most potent scientific tools of the Twentieth Century." The United States had been considering launching orbital satellites since 1945 under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy . Project RAND eventually released the report, but considered the satellite to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda, rather than a potential military weapon. In 1946, American theoretical astrophysicist Lyman Spitzer proposed an orbiting space telescope . In February 1954, Project RAND released "Scientific Uses for

5922-535: The names of 16 of its satellites formerly known under the Intelsat Americas and PanAmSat brands to Galaxy and Intelsat, respectively. Over time, Intelsat has worked with most of the commercial launch services providers worldwide. Their satellites are often among the most massive of their generation, requiring the most powerful and reliable rockets on the market at a given time. In the 21st century, most Intelsat missions were conducted by Arianespace with

6016-477: The older satellites that reached the end of life , as a part of the regulatory process of obtaining a launch license. The largest artificial satellite ever is the International Space Station . By the early 2000s, and particularly after the advent of CubeSats and increased launches of microsats —frequently launched to the lower altitudes of low Earth orbit (LEO)—satellites began to more frequently be designed to get destroyed, or breakup and burnup entirely in

6110-550: The possible use of communications satellites for mass communications. He suggested that three geostationary satellites would provide coverage over the entire planet. In May 1946, the United States Air Force 's Project RAND released the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship , which stated "A satellite vehicle with appropriate instrumentation can be expected to be one of

6204-479: The pursuit of a multi-year network transformation plan with investments designed to deliver higher speeds, more flexibility, redundancy, and backwards compatibility.   As of 2022, the company served approximately 1,800 customers and employed a staff of approximately 1,790 people. John F. Kennedy instigated the creation of Intelsat with his speech to the United Nations on 25 September 1961. Less than

6298-412: The quantity of materials that are often left in the ocean. Rocket launches release numerous pollutants into every layer of the atmosphere, especially affecting the atmosphere above the tropopause where the byproducts of combustion can reside for extended periods. These pollutants can include black carbon , CO 2 , nitrogen oxides (NO x ), aluminium and water vapour , but the mix of pollutants

6392-427: The same point in the sky; therefore the satellite dish antennas of ground stations can be aimed permanently at that spot and do not have to move to track the satellite. Others form satellite constellations in low Earth orbit , where antennas on the ground have to follow the position of the satellites and switch between satellites frequently. When an Earth observation satellite or a communications satellite

6486-519: The same rates. Intelsat Americas-7 (known formerly as Telstar 7 and known as Galaxy 27 since on 1 February 2007) experienced a several-day power failure on 29 November 2004. The satellite returned to service with reduced capacity. Intelsat was sold for US$ 3.1 billion in January 2005 to four private equity firms: Madison Dearborn Partners , Apax Partners , Permira and Apollo Global Management . The company acquired PanAmSat on 3 July 2006, and

6580-409: The satellite; the slip rings can rotate to be perpendicular with the sunlight and generate the most power. All satellites with a solar panel must also have batteries , because sunlight is blocked inside the launch vehicle and at night. The most common types of batteries for satellites are lithium-ion , and in the past nickel–hydrogen . Earth observation satellites are designed to monitor and survey

6674-404: The satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few meters in real time. Astronomical satellites are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects. Tether satellites are satellites that are connected to another satellite by

6768-488: The satellites stay still in the sky (relative to a fixed point on the ground). Some imaging satellites chose a Sun-synchronous orbit because they can scan the entire globe with similar lighting. As the number of satellites and space debris around Earth increases, the threat of collision has become more severe. A small number of satellites orbit other bodies (such as the Moon , Mars , and the Sun ) or many bodies at once (two for

6862-584: The series include ProtoStar I , ICO G1 , SIRIUS FM-6 and SES NEW SKIES NSS-12 . As of September 2015 there were 80 satellites based on the 1300 series platform on orbit, with 1 more ready for launch and 21 others under construction. The company designed and built AsiaSat 8 , which was launched on 5 August 2014, and AsiaSat 6 , which went into orbit on 7 September 2014. The two satellite launches cost AsiaSat $ 110 million. The satellites were expected to last 15 years, and contain high-powered C-band transponders providing video and broadband services to

6956-540: The space in 2021 to test the material's resilience to space conditions. Most satellites use chemical or ion propulsion to adjust or maintain their orbit , coupled with reaction wheels to control their three axis of rotation or attitude. Satellites close to Earth are affected the most by variations in the Earth's magnetic , gravitational field and the Sun's radiation pressure ; satellites that are further away are affected more by other bodies' gravitational field by

7050-458: The special conditions of space could be useful for scientific experiments. The book described geostationary satellites (first put forward by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky ) and discussed the communication between them and the ground using radio, but fell short with the idea of using satellites for mass broadcasting and as telecommunications relays. In a 1945 Wireless World article, English science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke described in detail

7144-459: The stratosphere. Both warming and changes in circulation can then cause depletion of the ozone layer. Several pollutants are released in the upper atmospheric layers during the orbital lifetime of LEO satellites. Orbital decay is caused by atmospheric drag and to keep the satellite in the correct orbit the platform occasionally needs repositioning. To do this nozzle-based systems use a chemical propellant to create thrust. In most cases hydrazine

7238-418: The total contribution needed to finance capital expenditures. The organization's primary source of revenue was satellite usage fees which, after deduction of operating costs, was redistributed to Intelsat members in proportion to their shares as repayment of capital and compensation for use of capital. Satellite services were available to any organization (both Intelsat members and non-members), and all users paid

7332-646: The transaction expected to complete regulatory clearance in the second half of 2025. With over 100 GEO satellites, 26 MEO satellites, and 13 satellites on order, the combined company's multi-orbit capability will improve competitiveness against rival LEO satellite networks, and has an expected 2024 revenue of €3.8 billion. As of March 2011, Intelsat has agreed to purchase one-half of the 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) propellant payload that an MDA Corporation spacecraft satellite-servicing demonstration project would take to geostationary orbit . Catching up in orbit with four or five Intelsat communication satellites ,

7426-778: The umbrella of the Alliance for Competitive International Satellite Services (ACISS) to press for an end to the exclusively-intergovernmental organizations operating communication satellites and the monopoly position of COMSAT the U.S. signatory to Intelsat and Inmarsat . In March 2001, the U.S. Congress passed the Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act to privatize COMSAT. In April 1998, to address U.S. government concerns about market power, Intelsat's senior management spun off five of its older satellites to

7520-748: The use of advanced composites on commercial satellites, which permit significant increases in the size and power of a satellite's payload and extends the satellite's on-orbit lifetime. SSL also has developed new service-enhancing technologies such as super power systems for direct-to-user applications and ground-based beam forming, a technology that uses both satellite and terrestrial assets to provide mobile users with increased coverage and capacity capabilities. As of December 2016 , there are 87 SSL-built geosynchronous satellites in orbit. SSL manufactures satellites based on its SSL 1300 series platform (previously LS-1300 , FS-1300 ) in Palo Alto. Satellites in

7614-632: Was acquired by the Canadian aerospace company MacDonald Dettwiler (now MDA ) for $ 875 million. MDA was renamed as Maxar Technologies in 2017. SSL's major competitors are Boeing Satellite Systems , Lockheed Martin , Thales Alenia Space , Airbus Defence and Space and JSC Information Satellite Systems . In 1960, the Courier 1B , built by then Philco, became the world's first active repeater satellite. SSL has recently pioneered research in electric propulsion systems, lithium-ion power systems and

7708-481: Was also this year that Intelsat privatized and changed its name to Intelsat. Since its inception, Intelsat has used several versions (blocks) of its dedicated Intelsat satellites. Intelsat completes each block of spacecraft independently, leading to a variety of satellite manufacturing contractors over the years. Intelsat's largest spacecraft supplier by 2012 was Space Systems/Loral , having built 47 spacecraft ( Intelsat 20 ) by that time. The network in its early years

7802-521: Was announced that the bondholders would not accept the offer and that the potential merger would be terminated as of 2 June 2017. After 2014, Intelsat maintained its corporate administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia , where a majority of its employees worked at the time. Intelsat maintains constantly staffed global network operations centers in its Tysons Corner location and in Ellenwood, Georgia . A highly international business, Intelsat sources

7896-463: Was established in 1973, following inter-nation negotiations from 1969 to 1971. The most difficult issue to "resolve concerned the shift from management of the system by a national entity to management by the international organization itself". On 6 April 1965, Intelsat's first satellite, the Intelsat I (nicknamed Early Bird ), was placed in geostationary orbit above the Atlantic Ocean by

7990-625: Was founded as the Western Development Laboratories (WDL) of Philco (Philco-Ford since 1966). The Space Systems Division was made a stand-alone Division of Aeronutronic / Ford Aerospace / and was acquired by Loral Corp. in 1990 for $ 715 million from Ford Motor Company , and renamed Space Systems/Loral . All other divisions of Ford Aerospace including Western Development Labs now located in San Jose were also acquired by Loral at that time. In 2012 Space Systems/Loral

8084-418: Was fully commercialized, and Intelsat was privatized after 2001 as Intelsat was formed up as a private Luxembourg corporation. The International Governmental Organization (IGO) began on (20 August 1964 ; 60 years ago  ( 20 August 1964 ) ), with 7 participating countries. The 1964 agreement was an interim arrangement on a path to a more permanent agreement. The permanent international organization

8178-488: Was in geostationary orbit over the Pacific. By the 1990s, building and launching satellites was no longer exclusively a government domain and as country-specific telecommunications systems were privatized, several private satellite operators arose to meet the growing demand. In the U.S., satellite operators such as PanAmSat , Orion Communications, Columbia Communications, Iridium , Globalstar , TRW and others formed under

8272-423: Was in talks about a merger with Intelsat but in June 2023, it was announced that these discussions had ended. On 30 April 2024, SES announced that an agreement had been reached to acquire Intelsat for USD$ 3.1 billion, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2025. As of June 2022, Intelsat operated a fleet of 52 communications satellites which was then one of the world's largest fleets. In 2020,

8366-640: Was not as robust as it is now. A failure of the Atlantic satellite in the spring of 1969 threatened to stop the Apollo 11 mission; a replacement satellite went into a bad orbit and could not be recovered in time; NASA used undersea cable telephone circuits as an alternative to route Apollo's communications to NASA during the mission. During the Apollo 11 moonwalk , the Moon was over the Pacific Ocean , and so other antennas were used, as well as Intelsat III, which

8460-468: Was paid immediately to reduce outstanding company debts of US$ 15.9 billion. In May 2013, the company announced it would be purchasing four new high-performance Boeing EpicNG 702 MP satellites. In 2015, Intelsat reincorporated in Delaware and became Intelsat Corporation. There were negotiations in 2017 that Intelsat could potentially merge with Softbank -backed OneWeb . However, on 1 June 2017, it

8554-410: Was still evolving. MDA "could ask customers to pay per kilogram of fuel successfully added to [each] satellite, with the per-kilogram price being a function of the additional revenue the operator can expect to generate from the spacecraft's extended operational life". The plan is that the fuel-depot vehicle would maneuver to several satellites, dock at the target satellite's apogee kick motor , remove

8648-426: Was the first academic treatise on the use of rocketry to launch spacecraft. He calculated the orbital speed required for a minimal orbit, and inferred that a multi-stage rocket fueled by liquid propellants could achieve this. Herman Potočnik explored the idea of using orbiting spacecraft for detailed peaceful and military observation of the ground in his 1928 book, The Problem of Space Travel . He described how

8742-483: Was the third country to build a satellite which was launched into space, it was launched aboard an American rocket from an American spaceport. The same goes for Australia, whose launch of the first satellite involved a donated U.S. Redstone rocket and American support staff as well as a joint launch facility with the United Kingdom. The first Italian satellite San Marco 1 was launched on 15 December 1964 on

8836-479: Was then the world's largest provider of fixed satellite services, operating a fleet of 52 satellites in prime orbital locations. In June 2007, BC Partners announced they had acquired 76% of Intelsat for about 3.75 billion euros . In April 2013, the renamed Intelsat S.A. undertook an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, raising a net US$ 550 million, of which US$ 492 million

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