Inmarsat has announced the launch date for its third Global Xpress (GX) broadband satellite, Inmarsat-5 F3 (I-5 F3)
To be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12.44pm (BST) on 28 August 2015, I-5 F3 will combine with Inmarsat’s existing two satellites to create the world’s first globally available, high-speed mobile broadband service, delivered through a single provider.
“The completion of the Global Xpress constellation will be a significant milestone for our organisation and is fundamental to the delivery of a new era in mobile satellite communications which will change the future for us all,” said Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce. “We believe that our GX technology will drive innovation and support value-added services and solutions for our government and enterprise customers on land, at sea and in the air; in opportunities as diverse as the merchant maritime, business and commercial aviation, government, energy and resources and enterprise VSAT segments.”
The final instalment in the GX programme, I-5 F3, which will cover the Pacific region, will join I-5 F1, covering Europe the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and I-5 F2, which covers Americas and the Atlantic Ocean and will enter commercial service in late August 2015.
Once complete, GX will deliver broadband speeds of around 100 times faster than Inmarsat’s fourth generation (I-4) constellation, with global commercial services due to come online by the end of 2015.
