It will be the 10th launch of the year for Hughes. The 34-minute window for launch on an Ariane rocket opens at 9:42 local time (4:42 p.m. PST, 7:42 p.m. EST, and 12:42 a.m. Dec. 5 GMT).

SATMEX 5 is a high-power HS 601 satellite built for Satmex. It is the third generation of satellites Hughes has built for Mexico, preceded by Morelos I and Morelos II, launched in 1985, and by Solidaridad 1 and 2, launched in 1993 and 1994. SATMEX 5 will replace Morelos II at 116.8 degrees West longitude to provide business communications, television distribution, and educational programming services to a region stretching from Canada to the Patagonia.

SATMEX 5 has 7,000 watts of payload power, 10 times that of Morelos II, and a 15-year design life, double that of Morelos II. The satellite features 48 transponders, 24 in C-band and 24 in Ku-band. The 24 C-band transponders are powered by 36-watt traveling wave-tube amplifiers, and the 24 Ku-band transponders are powered by 132.5-watt traveling wave-tube amplifiers.

SATMEX 5 also carries a xenon ion propulsion system, XIPS, which will be used for north and south stationkeeping. Hughes was the first to launch a commercially available ion propulsion system when it launched PAS-5 in August 1997, and also developed a similar ion engine currently flying on NASA's Deep Space 1. The commercial XIPS is 10 times more efficient than traditional chemical bipropellants and allows for a reduction in propellant mass of up to 90%. SATMEX 5 is the fourth HS 601HP to carry XIPS.

Hughes Space and Communications Company is the world's leading manufacturer of geostationary commercial communications satellites, and is also a major supplier of spacecraft and equipment to the United States government. The ISO 9001 company is also a builder of weather satellites for the United States and Japan.

SATMEX-5 FactsSheet

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