Defense, Space & Security

Description and Purpose:
Four Boeing-built geostationary satellites - called Intelsat 21, Intelsat 22, Intelsat 27 and one spacecraft yet to be named - will refresh and add new telecommunications capacity to Intelsat's global satellite fleet.

Customer:
Since 1967, Boeing has built 50 communications satellites for Intelsat Ltd., the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. In July 2009, Intelsat became Boeing's first customer for the Boeing 702MP satellite series when it ordered four spacecraft.

General Characteristics:
The new spacecraft feature C- and Ku-band capacity optimized to distribute video, network and voice services from Asia and Africa to the Americas and Europe.

IS-22, the first of the four Boeing-built Intelsat satellites, will carry 48 C-band 24 Ku-band transponders for commercial use, as well as an Ultra-High Frequency UHF hosted payload to provide service to the Australian Defence Force. IS-22 was launched March 25, 2012, on a Proton rocket from Baikonur, and will operate in a 72 degrees east orbital slot over the Indian Ocean.

The second Intelsat satellite, IS-21, also is scheduled for launch in 2012 and will replace the IS-9 satellite at 58 degrees west. The third satellite, Intelsat 27, will carry a UHF hosted payload and offer 20 25-KHz UHF channels capable of serving the U.S. government and other Intelsat General clients around the world. The satellite is expected to launch in late 2012 or early 2013 and will be placed in the Atlantic Ocean region as a replacement for the Intelsat 805 satellite.

The Intelsat satellites incorporate low-risk, proven technologies based on the Boeing 702HP satellite. The payload is powered by two solar wings, each with three to four panels of ultra triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells.

Intelsat's new satellites will utilize Boeing Lean manufacturing, which streamlines manufacturing and test through reduced assembly steps, more efficient operational layout and an enhanced supplier management philosophy based on a product line rather than program approach. Because of the modular design, common manufacturing processes such as pulse line and manufacturing line production can be leveraged to accelerate the manufacturing cycle, leading to a faster delivery for the customer.

Background:
The 702MP satellite represents the first major evolution since the introduction of the Boeing 702HP in 1999.

Boeing introduced the 702MP spacecraft in 2009 to meet the needs of customers seeking satellites in the middle-level power ranges. Its flexible design supports payloads that range in power from six to 12 kilowatts. The 702MP provides the high-capability features inherent in the flight-proven Boeing 702HP satellite model, but with a substantially updated satellite bus structure and simplified propulsion system.

Designed to provide 15 or more years of satellite service, the 702MP platform is able to accommodate hosted payloads (such as sensors, UHF and Ka-band) for additional flexibility in customer business planning. The Boeing 702MP is compatible with the Atlas, Ariane, Proton and Sea Launch launch vehicles.

The 702MP satellite is designed and built at The Boeing Company's satellite integration and test complex in El Segundo, Calif.