An ILS Proton carrying the Inmarsat 5 F2 satellite. Photo: Inmarsat.

[Via Satellite 02-02-2015] Inmarsat’s second Global Xpress (GX) High Throughput Satellite (HTS) Inmarsat 5 F2 launched Feb. 1 aboard a Proton rocket from International Launch Services (ILS). The operator acquired the first signals at its Paumalu, Hawaii, ground station and ILS confirmed the spacecraft separated cleanly.

Built on the Boeing 702 High Power (HP) platform, the satellite has several weeks of electrical orbit raising to reach Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) by the end of March. Payload testing is scheduled to begin in April once the satellite is in GEO.

Inmarsat 5 F2 is designed to provide broadband for maritime, aviation, and other verticals, providing high-resolution video, voice and data. The company’s third satellite is scheduled to launch in the first half of this year, which will complete the constellation. Boeing is currently constructing a fourth Inmarsat 5 satellite in El Segundo, Calif. with delivery scheduled for 2016.