AsiaSat 4 is settling into its geostationary orbital position at 122 degrees East Longitude after a successful April 11 launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard an Atlas IIIB rocket operated by International Launch Services (ILS). From that vantage point, AsiaSat 4 will be able to provide Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. [NYSE: SAT] with C-band and Ku-band coverage of most of Asia and Australia. The satellite carries 28 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders, with 16 operating in the fixed satellite service (FSS) and four operating in the broadcasting satellite service (BSS) frequency bands. The company now has three operational satellites in orbit covering Asia and Australasia regions.

AsiaSat 4, a Boeing [NYSE: BA] 601HP satellite with a 15-year design life, is designed to provide advanced satellite services, including direct-to-home television, broadband and IP solutions, and telecommunications services such as private networks for business and rural telephony.

AsiaSat CEO Peter Jackson said, “AsiaSat 4, along with our two other in-orbit satellites, AsiaSat 2 and AsiaSat 3S, will enable our customers to enjoy wider choices and greater flexibility for regional coverage as well as unbeatable back up across the entire fleet.”

AsiaSat In Action

AsiaSat, a subsidiary of Paris-based SES Global, was formed in 1988 as Asia’s first privately owned regional satellite operator. The company launched its first satellite, AsiaSat 1, in 1990. Its second satellite, AsiaSat 2, was launched in November 1995 and started commercial operation in January 1996. AsiaSat 2, located at 100.5 degrees East Longitude, covers 53 countries and regions, and 66 percent of the world’s population.

AsiaSat 3S, the third satellite of the company, was launched in March 1999 and started commercial service in May of 1999. It replaced AsiaSat 1 at the orbital location of 105.5 degrees East. The AsiaSat 1 no longer offers commercial service. AsiaSat 3S has a C-band footprint similar to that of AsiaSat 2, as well as two Ku-band fixed beams covering East and South Asia, and an in-orbit steerable Ku-beam now fixed over Australia.

AsiaSat’s satellites serve over 60 public and private television and radio broadcasters from around the world, offering some 120 analog and digital television channels and 90 radio channels that reach more than 80 million households, with more than 300 million viewers across the Asia Pacific region. Many telecommunications customers use AsiaSat for services such as public telephone networks, private VSAT networks and high speed Internet and multimedia services.

Good News For ILS

The launch also was good news for ILS. “We’re off to a great start,” said ILS President Mark Albrecht. “This makes 64 successful launches in a row for Atlas over a decade.”

Albrecht added that ILS could conduct as many as 10 launches this year with its Atlas and Proton vehicles, depending on deliveries of the satellites. ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and two Russian companies, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS markets and manages the missions for the Atlas IIAS, Atlas III and Atlas V families and the Russian Proton launch vehicles.

This mission marks ILS’ third launch for AsiaSat.

–Fred Donovan