Intelsat 34

Intelsat 34
Mission type	Communications
Operator	Intelsat
COSPAR ID	2015-039A
SATCAT no.	40874
Mission duration	15 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	SSL 1300
Manufacturer	Space Systems/Loral
Launch mass	3,300 kilograms (7,300 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	20 August 2015 20:34 UTC
Rocket	Ariane 5 ECA
Launch site	Kourou
Contractor	Arianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Longitude	55.5 west
Perigee altitude	35,792 kilometres (22,240 mi)
Apogee altitude	35,800 kilometres (22,200 mi)
Inclination	0.03 degrees
Period	1436.22 minutes
Epoch	20 August 2015 UTC
	Intelsat ← Intelsat 33e Intelsat 35e →

INTELSAT 34 or IS-34 is communications satellite built on Space Systems/Loral's 1300-series satellite platform.^[1] The satellite broadcasts television to homes in Brazil, distributes video programming for companies like HBO and Fox across Latin America, and beams Internet broadband services to travelers aboard airplanes and ships crossing the North Atlantic Ocean.^[2]^[3]

The satellite has 22 C-band channels to provide services to North and South America and Europe and 18 Ku-band channels for services to Mexico, Central America, Brazil, the Caribbean, Europe, a portion of the United States, and the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean.^[4] Intelsat 34, unlike its predecessor, does not include the UHF-band that Intelsat had been unable to sell to its intended customer, the U.S. Department of Defense.^[5]

Launch

Intelsat 34 is the 50th Loral-built satellite launched for Intelsat.^[6] With a launch mass of 7,275 pounds - about 3.3 metric tons^[4] - Intelsat 34 is a replacement for the Intelsat 27 spacecraft lost aboard a Sea Launch mission in 2013.^[7] It took over service from the Galaxy 11 and Intelsat 805 spacecraft in orbit, the company's last two relay stations that had been launched before 2000.^[5]