[November 23, 2009] Successful launch for Intelsat 14 Tweet Nov 23, 2009 (TELECOMWORLDWIRE via COMTEX) -- Intelsat Ltd, a provider of satellite communications services, confirmed today the successful launch of its Intelsat 14 satellite (IS-14) which lifted off at 01:55 ET on board an Atlas V 431 booster provided by United Launch Alliance. The company said that spacecraft separation was confirmed by signal acquisition from the craft at 03:52 ET. The satellite is the first of 11 new satellites scheduled for Intelsat's current investment campaign. IS-14, once operational, will replace Intelsat's 1R satellite at 315 degrees East, covering Latin America, Europe and Africa through its C- and Ku-band transponders. It is expected to have a life span of 16 years. Intelsat did not disclosed the expected date for the satellite to enter operational status. The satellite also carries the IRIS (Internet Router in Space) as a hosted payload on behalf of CISCO (Nasdaq: CSCO). IRIS is designed to provide amalgamated IP relay services for the US military. An Intel spokesperson said that it is a clear demonstration of how government programs can take advantage of commercial platforms to meet long term communications requirements in an economical way. No details of the cost of the satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral, were given, nor were launch costs divulged. Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]