Artist’s rendition of Horizon’s 2. Photo: Orbital ATK

Arianespace announced that it will launch Horizons 3e, a satellite belonging to the Horizons joint venture owned by Intelsat and SKY Perfect JSAT.

Arianespace will orbit this Boeing-built payload in the launch period starting late 2018 on an Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.

Horizons 3e will complete Intelsat’s global Epic network. The High-Throughput Satellite’s (HTS) C-band and Ku-band transponders will provide more than 22 Gbps in growth capacity for aeronautical and maritime mobility applications spanning from Asia and the Pacific to North America. The companies also expect Horizons 3e to support further development of specialty networks for governments. The spacecraft will weigh 6,500 kg. at liftoff.

The Horizons 3e satellite marks the fourth satellite to be owned jointly by SKY Perfect JSAT and Intelsat, following Horizons 1 (launched in 2003); Horizons 2 (launched in 2007) and Intelsat 15/JCSAT 85 (launched in 2009).