Proton prepares to launch third I-4 satellite into orbit
Posted on Fri, Jul 25, 2008
Global broadband coverage moves a step closer next month with the launch of the third and final Inmarsat-4 (I-4) satellite.
Lift off is scheduled for 22:46 UTC (23:46 BST) on 13 August from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the historic location for the launch of the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.
The I-4 F3 will be injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit 35,786km (22,240 miles) above the Earth on a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle. Once tested and operational, it will complete the worldwide constellation of I-4 spacecraft, while delivering Inmarsat's range of advanced satellite phone and mobile broadband data services to North and South America at 98 degrees west..