Boeing-built AsiaSat 4 Communication Satellite Successfully Launched
The fourth in a series of four built by Boeing [NYSE: BA], the AsiaSat 4 satellite for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited of Hong Kong was successfully launched today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
The high-power Boeing Satellite Systems 601HP spacecraft was launched by International Launch Services onboard an Atlas IIIB vehicle at 8:47 p.m. EDT (8:47 a.m. on April 12 in Hong Kong). The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle approximately 30 minutes after launch. AsiaSat 4's first signals were received about 48 minutes after the launch at the Fort Stanley Telemetry, Tracking and Control Station in Hong Kong, confirming normal operation.
"We are extremely proud to have built and helped launch AsiaSat 4 for Asia Satellite Telecommunications," said Dave Ryan, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company. "This satellite will enable them to provide higher power coverage with excellent elevation angles across the expanded areas of Australasia and the Greater China region."
AsiaSat 4, designed by Boeing Satellite Systems to provide a minimum of 15 years of service, will be located at 122 degrees East and will provide television distribution and telecommunications service throughout Asia, the Middle East, Australasia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $25 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
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