spacetoday.net: IA-7 satellite fails

Posted: Mon, Nov 29, 2004, 12:37 PM ET (1737 GMT)
A communications satellite recently purchased by Intelsat failed in orbit on Sunday, potentially jeopardizing the sale of the company to private investors. Intelsat reported late Sunday that the Intelsat Americas-7 (IA-7) spacecraft suffered a "sudden and unexpected electrical distribution anomaly" early Sunday, permanently disabling the satellite. Intelsat said it is working with the satellite's manufacturer, Space Systems/Loral, to determine the cause of the failure. The satellite, located at 129 degrees west, was not insured; Intelsat allowed an existing on-orbit insurance policy to lapse in September. The spacecraft was launched in September 1999 as Telstar 7, and was originally owned by Loral. In 2003 Loral agreed to sell it and five other satellites to Intelsat; one of the other satellites in the original deal, Telstar 4, also failed before the sale was completed. Intelsat said it has moved most of the major customers of IA-7, which served the US, Central America, and portions of South America, to other satellites, including those operated by rival PanAmSat, but some customers with lower-cost "pre-emptible contracts" have not yet had service restored. Intelsat will regain some capacity with the launch next month of the IA-8 satellite. Intelsat is in the process of bring acquired by a group of private-equity investors operating under the name Zeus Holdings; the failure will allow Zeus to reconsider their current offer of $3 billion, plus $2 billion in debt assumption, for Intelsat.