Boeing

JCSAT-8, a Boeing 601 model satellite, is checked out prior to shipment for a launch scheduled on March 28, 2002, aboard an Ariane 4 rocket. The seventh satellite ordered from Boeing Satellite Systems by Tokyo-based JSAT Corporation, JCSAT-8 will provide coverage to Japan, East Asia, Oceania and Hawaii from the orbital slot of 154 degrees East longitude. The spacecraft will carry 16 Ku-band and 16 C-band transponders. Its solar arrays, one of which is shown above, are designed to deliver 3.7 kilowatts at the end of the satellite's 11-year design life.

For more information, please visit the Boeing Satellite Systems website.