Intelsat 27

Intelsat 22 [BSS]
Intelsat 27 similar

Intelsat S.A., announced in August 2010 that it has commenced construction of the Intelsat 27 satellite (IS-27). IS-27 was ordered in 2009 as an then unasigned satellite in a four satellite package. IS-27 will have a hybrid C- and Ku-band design for media and network customers and will be augmented with a 20 × 25 kHz channel UHF payload for use in government applications. IS-27 is expected to be launched by December 2012 and will be placed in the Atlantic Ocean Region as a replacement for the Intelsat 805 satellite. The IS-27 UHF hosted payload provides capability to complement the existing UFO (UHF Follow-On) and future MUOS (Multi-User Objective System) satellites. The payload supports DAMA and IW operations, and is digitally tunable and completely interoperable with existing terminals. The IS-27 UHF payload will be functionally equivalent to the Navy’s UFO-11 satellite.

In March 2010, the Navy submitted a UHF augmentation plan to Congress. A commercially hosted UHF payload was one of the solutions described to mitigate the shortfall in UHF capability. On May 10, 2010, SPAWAR issued a Sources Sought notice to industry requesting solutions for UHF augmentation.

Intelsat signed an agreement with Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems for manufacturing of IS-27 in August 2010. Intelsat authorized Boeing to proceed with the UHF hosted payload in the second quarter of 2010 for long-lead construction in order to meet a launch date in 2012.