spacetoday.net: Orbital wins contract for Intelsat spacecraft

Posted: Wed, May 2, 2007, 7:39 AM ET (1139 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced Tuesday that it has won a contract from Intelsat to build a new communications satellite. The IS-15 spacecraft is based on Orbital Star family of small GEO communications satellites, generating 4.6 kilowatts of power and carrying 22 Ku-band transponders. The satellite, to be located at 85 degrees east, is scheduled for launch in early 2009, although launch arrangements were not disclosed. Intelsat also confirmed a previous satellite ordered with Orbital, IS-16; that satellite had been known as PAS-11R when originally ordered by PanAmSat prior to its merger with Intelsat. The order is the second for Orbital this year.