AMC-23 satellite successfully launched from Baikonur

The Americom-23 (AMC-23) satellite of SES Americom roared into space onboard an International Launch Services Proton / Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) on Thursday at 0228 UTC. After 9 hours and 19 minutes, the spacecraft separated from the Breeze M and was placed into geostationary transfer orbit.

The hybrid C/Ku-band satellite will undergo payload and performance testing at 170 degrees West. AMC-23 is being prepared for operation in early 2006 from 172 degrees East orbital position. An advanced, high-powered hybrid C/Ku-band satellite, AMC-23 can deliver and receive signals from California to Bangladesh, from as far north as Alaska in the US and as far south as Australia and New Zealand, and all points in between.

The spacecraft will serve local, transcontinental and transoceanic customers across the Pacific region, including Western North America, East Asia, the South Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii, and provide links to the world's premier regional satellite systems.

The design of AMC-23 combines a conventional C-band landmass coverage payload with an innovative Ku-band oceanic coverage payload. The 18 transponder C-band payload will be used by broadcasters, cable programmers, Internet service providers, government agencies, educational institutions, carriers and private networks for next generation distribution solutions within, and connectivity to, North America and Pacific Rim.

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