Development of the INTELSAT-IX satellite system

This paper describes the design and development of the INTELSAT-IX spacecraft system at Space Systems/Loral. The satellite is a three-axis controlled, multi-frequency communications satellite providing voice, video, and data transmission and distribution services at C- and Ku-bands for the member nations of the INTELSAT organization from specified locations over two ocean areas, Atlantic and Indian. The satellites can be launched on an Ariane 4, Ariane 5, Proton, or Sea Launch vehicle and injected directly into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The apogee manoeuvre is performed with the on-board bipropellant propulsion system. The INTELSAT-IX satellite consists of two independent cross-strappable communications systems operating at C-band (6/4 GHz) and Ku-band (14/11 GHz). It employs antenna beam shape and polarization control at C-band to achieve up to six times frequency reuse, providing up to 3 GHz operating bandwidth. At Ku-band, it employs two independently steerable spot antennas to achieve two times frequency reuse in that band