Maxar Technologies lands NASA project

The next-gen satellite will be integrated into Intelstat’s Epic platform, which also houses NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) payload. The project is scheduled to be competed and the satellite launched in 2022. In a press release, Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler said, “When it’s launched, Intelsat 40e will be the newest addition to our next-generation Intelsat Epic platform, which is already providing our global customers with flexible, high-performance connectivity they can count on today – and in the future. Intelsat continuously invests in innovative new satellite and hybrid technologies that make it easy and affordable for our customers to connect people, devices and networks, even in the most remote locations. We look forward to partnering with Maxar on this next build.” The Intelsat is based on Maxar’s 40e 1300-class satellite platform and Intelsat Epic platform and will provide North and Central American Intelsat customers with “coast-to-coast” coverage. The additional capacity will also support the company’s managed-service offerings, including connectivity challenges for commercial and private planes, as well as land-based mobility applications. TEMPO is a UV-visible spectrometer that identifies pollutants by measuring sunlight reflected and scattered from the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The system’s data will bolster North American air-quality forecasts as well as enhanced advance public warnings when pollution incidents occur. The combined Intelsat 40e and TEMPO programs are expected to be accretive to Maxar’s earnings and cash flow on an annual basis throughout the production process, a press release read. It isn’t the first collaboration for NASA and Maxar. The space agency selected Maxar to host its TEMPO payload utilizing the Space and Missile Systems Center Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) contract vehicle in 2019. Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky said, “Maxar and Intelsat have a strategic partnership that goes back more than 40 years, and we are honored to have been chosen for Intelsat 40e – the 54th satellite that Maxar will build for Intelsat over the course of our long and successful history together. Maxar is also honored to have collaborated with NASA for more than 50 years, and we are excited to leverage our strong legacy in bridging commercial and government needs to integrate the agency’s TEMPO payload with Intelsat 40e. Maxar’s recent work with NASA on TEMPO and several other Space Infrastructure missions demonstrate positive momentum for our expanding civil space portfolio.” Intelsat provides communication satellite service for media and network companies, multinational corporations and internet service providers. The public company was founded in 1965 in Luxembourg. Maxar is a space and geospatial intelligence company providing satellites, earth imagery, geospatial data and analytic services. The public company was founded in 1969 in Westminster, Colorado.