The launch of PAS-8 extends SS/L�s role as a premier supplier of advanced high-powered video and telecommunications satellites optimized for digital traffic. The satellite has more than 10 kilowatts of total on-board power, providing PanAmSat with one of the most powerful packages of trans-Pacific coverage available.

PanAmSat Corporation, based in Greenwich, Conn., is the world�s leading commercial provider of satellite-based communications services. The company operates a global network of 18 satellites, including PAS-8, supported by PanAmSat professionals on five continents. These resources enable PanAmSat to provide video and telecommunications services to hundreds of customers worldwide.

From a geosynchronous orbital location at 166 degrees East Longitude above the Pacific Ocean, PAS-8 will deliver advanced digital-quality video and telecommunications services throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite carries 24 C-band transponders and 24 Ku-band transponders.

PanAmSat�s PAS-6, -7, and -8 spacecraft are all based on SS/L's three-axis, body-stabilized FS-1300 bus, whose modular design has proven its worth during more than 290 years of cumulative on-orbit service, nearly half the total of 650 plus years amassed by all SS/L satellites to date. Each bus is tailored to meet PanAmSat�s specific communications goals.

The FS-1300 buses are designed to achieve long useful orbital life -- in this case, 15 years -- through use of a bipropellant propulsion system and a momentum-bias system for excellent stationkeeping and orbital stability. Solar arrays and nickel-hydrogen batteries provide uninterrupted electrical power.

The 3,800-kilogram PAS-8 satellite was launched at 10:12 a.m. local time (12:12 a.m. Eastern Standard time) on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today. PAS-8, an FS 1300 spacecraft built by Space Systems/Loral, contains 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and will be located at 166 degrees East Longitude. PAS-8's orbital location is three degrees west of PAS-2, PanAmSat's first Pacific Ocean Region satellite, enabling PanAmSat to provide complementary services over the two satellites. PAS-8 was the company's second Proton launch.

"Today's successful launch of PAS-8 reflects PanAmSat's long-term commitment to Asia. Now with four satellites and two sales offices serving the region, PanAmSat continues to offer superior satellite technology and customer service," said Frederick A. Landman, PanAmSat's president and chief executive officer. "In addition, our goal to grow our worldwide fleet to 25 satellites over the next 18 months is moving forward on schedule."

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.