PANAMSAT PAS-10 GEARING UP FOR MAY LAUNCH

PanAmSat Corporation says its new PAS-10 Indian Ocean Region satellite has arrived in Kazakhstan in preparation for its May launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

PAS-10 will be sent into space by a Proton launch vehicle and will provide digital video, data and Internet services throughout a 30 million square mile footprint covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Robert A Bednarek, PanAmSat’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, said when PAS-10 is operational it will give the company new growth opportunities that are “emerging in the Indian subcontinent as well as Central and Western Asia”.

PAS-10, which contains 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders, will succeed the PAS-4 Indian Ocean Region satellite at 68.5 degrees East. At this slot, the spacecraft will broadcast programming from providers such as the BBC, CNN, CCTV, Discovery, Doordarshan, ESPN, MTV, NHK, Nickelodeon, Sony and TNT.

PAS-10’s Ku-band payload, which offers 60 per cent more Ku-band transmission power than that of the PAS-4 satellite, contains multiple high-powered beams focused on Africa, Europe, India, the Middle East, Central and Western Asia as well as North East Asia.