Artist's conception of Galaxy 11 satellite in orbit. Photo: Hughes Space and Communications

PanAmSat Corporation announced November 29 that the company's Galaxy 11 satellite has arrived in Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for a late December 1999 launch aboard an Ariane rocket.

Galaxy 11, the 10th satellite in PanAmSat's U.S. fleet and its 20th worldwide, will be the largest commercial communications spacecraft ever deployed into space. The launch will also commence the company's comprehensive expansion and backup plan that will place seven additional satellites into orbit by mid-2001.

"Galaxy 11 marks a new era for PanAmSat as we unveil the beginning of next-generation satellite services for our customers in North America and around the world," said Robert A. Bednarek, PanAmSat's executive vice president and chief technology officer. "With the launch of Galaxy 11, PanAmSat will begin the most ambitious satellite expansion and backup plan in the industry, providing increased fleet redundancy, enhanced flexibility and expanded global capacity."

The first of the advanced HS 702 spacecraft constructed by Hughes Space and Communications Co., Galaxy 11 contains a communications payload consisting of 40 Ku-band and 24 C-band high-power transponders. The satellite will initially be located at 99 degrees west longitude and will provide sweeping coverage of North America and Brazil. An Ariane 44L rocket will deploy Galaxy 11 into space after liftoff from Arianespace's Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

Galaxy 11 is the first of three satellites that PanAmSat intends to launch over the next six months to provide expansion and backup services for the company's Galaxy(R) cable neighborhood customers in North America. The Galaxy cable neighborhood, the premier satellite video neighborhood for cable program distribution throughout the United States, is comprised of Galaxy 1R at 133 degrees west longitude, Galaxy 5 at 125 degrees west longitude, Galaxy 7 at 91 degrees west longitude and Galaxy 9 at 123 degrees west longitude.

The Galaxy cable neighborhood expansion and backup plan consists of the launch of the Galaxy 11, 10R and 4R satellites as well as the transition of the Galaxy 6, 7 and 9 satellites to new orbital locations. The redeployment plan is as follows:

• Galaxy 11 will be launched to 99 degrees west longitude;

• Galaxy 6, currently located at 99 degrees west longitude, will transition to 91 degrees west longitude and serve as the short-term backup for Galaxy 7;

• Galaxy 10R will be launched to 123 degrees west longitude in the first quarter of 2000;

• Galaxy 9, currently located at 123 degrees west longitude, will transition to 127 degrees west longitude;

• Following Galaxy 10R, Galaxy 4R will be launched to 99 degrees west longitude in the first quarter of 2000;

• Galaxy 11 will then transition to 91 degrees west longitude and serve as the long-term replacement for Galaxy 7; and

• Galaxy 6 will then serve as the permanent in-orbit spare for the Galaxy cable neighborhood.

The redeployment is designed to ensure comprehensive service for PanAmSat's full-time cable distribution customers located on the Galaxy cable neighborhood satellites. In addition, Galaxy IX, when relocated at 127 degrees west longitude, will create a new prime cable orbital location, providing additional C-band cable distribution capacity to meet the increasing demand for cable programming in the United States. As a result, PanAmSat's Galaxy cable neighborhood will consist of five satellites in five orbital locations and a permanent in-orbit spare by late 2000.

PanAmSat's expansion plan also calls for the launch of four new international satellites (PAS-1R, PAS-9, PAS-10 and Galaxy IIIC) within the next 18 months. With the launch of these seven new domestic U.S. and international satellites by mid-2001, PanAmSat will operate a global fleet of 25 spacecraft, the largest geostationary satellite network in the world.

PanAmSat is the world's leading commercial provider of global satellite-based communications services. The company operates a global network of 19 satellites supported by PanAmSat professionals on five continents. These resources enable PanAmSat to provide video and telecommunications services to hundreds of customers worldwide.