AsiaSat announced Tuesday it has signed a launch contract with Sea Launch Company to launch its AsiaSat 5 aboard a Zenit-3SLB rocket. The launch, scheduled for the second half of 2008, will be from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
AsiaSat 5 is designed to replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees east longitude. The satellite is a Space Systems/Loral 1300 series model with 26 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders and an estimated operational lifetime of 15 years.
AsiaSat 5's C-band footprint will offer an extensive pan-Asian coverage, the company said in a statement, and its high power Ku-band beams will cover both East and South Asia, with a steerable beam that will cover anywhere within AsiaSat 5's geographic coverage.
"We are pleased to have completed this major milestone in our procurement of AsiaSat 5," said Peter Jackson, AsiaSat's chief executive officer. "The Land Launch Zenit-3SLB rocket is based on a mature, flight-proven design; it is a highly reliable launch vehicle that offers the schedule assurance that meets our requirements for a 2008 launch."
