Arianespace Successfully Launches Two Satellites for the Americas

Kourou, French Guiana, October 16, 2014-- Arianespace has successfully launched two telecommunications satellites: Intelsat 30, which is hosting the DLA-1 Ku-band payload for DIRECTV Latin America, is designed to provide distribution services for DIRECTV Latin America in South America and the Caribbean and ARSAT-1, which features direct-to-home (DTH) TV broadcast payloads for Latin America.

The launch was performed by an Ariane 5 ECA on October 16 at 6:43 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. 

Intelsat 30 is a 20-kilowatt class Ku-and C-band satellite.  The Ku-band payload, known as DLA-1, is designed to provide distribution services for DIRECTV Latin America in South America and the Caribbean. The C-band portion enhances Intelsat’s existing C-band service infrastructure serving Latin America. This is the 54th satellite launched by Arianespace for Intelsat and the sixth for DIRECTV, as well as the 45th satellite built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL) to be orbited by Arianespace. 

ARSAT-1 is the first in a series of three geostationary (GEO) satellites that will give Argentina its own space telecommunications system. It is the first satellite of this type to be built in Argentina, by the state-owned company Invap in its plant in Bariloche, north of Patagonia. 

Arianespace has launched nearly three-fourths of all commercial satellites for operators in Latin America, where demand for access to space is growing. This year to date, Arianespace has orbited seven out of the 12 geostationary commercial satellites launched. This latest launched is the 62nd in a row of successful launches for the workhorse Ariane 5 launcher. 

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