Satellite expected to enter service first quarter 2017 following extended orbit-raising mission
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, today updated the in-service date for the Intelsat 33e satellite, successfully launched on 24 August 2016. The in-service date is being adjusted from fourth quarter 2016 to first quarter 2017.
Due to a malfunction in the primary thruster used for orbit raising, the orbit raising will take longer than planned and the satellite will arrive on station for In Orbit Testing in December 2016. The satellite’s solar arrays and antennas have been successfully deployed, and after completion of the In Orbit Testing, the satellite will be ready for service sometime in the first quarter of 2017.
Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, is presently working with the company to determine the cause of the thruster malfunction.
(Source: Intelsat press release)