Ariane 5 To Launch Inmarsat 4 Satellites (June 20)
LE BOURGET---At the Paris Air Show today, Jean-Marie Luton, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and Michael Storey, CEO and President of Inmarsat Ventures plc., signed a letter of intent for a launch services contract for at least one of the Inmarsat I-4 communications satellites.
An Ariane 5 launch for Inmarsat 4 The Inmarsat I-4 satellites under negotiation with Arianespace would be launched by Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during 2003/2004.
Arianespace has already orbited five satellites for Inmarsat, a global operator offering mobile satellite communication solutions.
Inmarsat 4, the 6-ton generation Each Inmarsat 4 satellites will weigh more than 6 metric tons at liftoff. Built by Astrium, they will allow Inmarsat to deliver a Broadband Global Area Network (B-GAN) solution with data rates of up to 432 kbits/s.
With the Ariane 5 launcher, Arianespace now offers a proven and unmatched payload capacity of well over 6 tons for the commercial launch market.
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Arianespace Signs Letter Of Intent to Launch Next Generation Inmarsat 4 Satellites
