[Satellite TODAY 06-06-11] Intelsat has contracted Sea Launch to launch the Intelsat 18 (IS-18) communications satellite in the second half of 2011 on a Zenit-3SLB rocket, Sea Launch announced June 2.
IS-18 was built by Orbital Sciences Corp. and equipped with a C- and a Ku-band payload for location at the 180 degrees East orbital slot. The satellite’s C-band payload will provide service to Eastern Asia, the Pacific and the Western United States. IS-18’s Ku-band payload will provide coverage over French Polynesia, Eastern Australia and the United States.
Sea Launch will orbit the IS-18 spacecraft from the Zenit Launch Complex located within the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.








