London satellite operator Inmarsat completes launch of fourth satellite

Inmarsat, the London-headquartered provider of global mobile satellite communications, has launched the fourth, high-speed broadband communications satellite in its transformational Global Xpress (GX) constellation.

The Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite, built by Boeing, launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket at 00:21 (BST) / 19:21 (ET) from the launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Following satellite separation at 00:53 (BST) / 19:53 ET, the company acquired telemetry from its Perth ground station at 01:04 BST / 20:04 ET.

The launch team from Inmarsat and Boeing Network & Space Systems are now raising the spacecraft to a geostationary orbit, at which point the satellite will deploy its solar arrays and reflectors, and undergo payload testing.

I-5 F4 joins the three GX satellites already in orbit, which have, since December 2015, been delivering service speeds, global coverage and security to users on land, at sea and in the air.

The fourth satellite adds further capacity to the GX network, as well as in-orbit redundancy that further upgrades Inmarsat’s service offerings.

Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, said: “For Inmarsat, reliability and resilience are paramount. Delivering global commercial services over the GX network, which we achieved at the end of 2015, was only the start of our Global Xpress project.

“I-5 F4 augments the capabilities of GX and, alongside our existing L-band constellations, enables Inmarsat to provide guaranteed global connectivity to industries and governments worldwide.

“I would like to thank all my colleagues at Inmarsat, whose hard work and dedication is seeing Global Xpress setting a new standard of excellence for broadband communications in established VSAT markets, such the maritime and government sectors, while also rapidly gaining strong traction in new market areas, such as the rapidly expanding aviation passenger connectivity sector.

“I also wish to extend my sincere thanks to our satellite manufacturing partner Boeing and our launch partner SpaceX for delivering a successful launch outcome.”

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