Hosted Payload Heritage
The Marisat Program
The Marisat program, a three-satellite constellation operating in C-band, L-band and UHF, was commercially built for the Department of Defense by Comsat and Intelsat continues its operation today. The world’s first maritime telecommunications satellite system, Marisat was launched in 1976 and the third satellite in the constellation, Marisat-F2 is still operational 30 years later, providing coverage of the Atlantic Ocean Region (AOR) at 33.9°. Primary TT&C, C-band teleport services and UHF monitoring are provided by Intelsat General from our Clarksburg, MD teleport.
The LEASAT Program
The LEASAT five-satellite constellation was developed as a commercial venture to provide dedicated communications services to the U.S. military. The satellites were designed to provide global UHF communications to military air, sea and ground forces. LEASAT 5 (formerly owned by Hughes) reverted to Intelsat in February 1997 upon the expiration of the US Navy’s original seven-year lease. Now in its twenty-first year of service, LEASAT 5 provides the U.S. DoD and Australian Defence Forces with capacity in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
FAA
As part of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) Geostationary Communications and Control Segment (GCCS) initiative, a dedicated FAA L-band stand-alone payload was added to the all C-band Galaxy 15 satellite. The navigation payload, integrated by Lockheed Martin, provides en route and vertical guidance to aircraft at thousands of North American airports. Galaxy 15 is located at 133° W, providing coverage of the contiguous U.S. and Alaska.
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