Telesat, a leading global fixed satellite services operator, reports that an ILS Proton rocket has launched Telesat's powerful Anik G1 satellite. Anik G1 will be located at 107.3 degrees West providing a range of communications services, including direct-to-home (DTH) video for Canada, X-band for government applications in the Americas and Pacific Ocean Region, and C-band and Ku-band services in South America.

The newest addition to Telesat's global fleet, Anik G1 carries 16 extended Ku-band transponders fully contracted to Shaw Direct for 15 years. Shaw Direct currently uses Telesat's Anik F1R satellite at 107.3 West for its Canadian DTH services and the addition of Anik G1 at the same orbital location will enable Shaw Direct to seamlessly add over 100 HD channels for their subscribers.

Anik G1 also has three X-band transponders that are fully contracted to Astrium Services for 15 years to support government applications across the Americas and much of the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii.

In addition, Anik G1 will bring new capacity to meet the growing demand for satellite communications services in South America. It will be co-located with Telesat's Anik F1 satellite at 107.3 West where it will effectively double both the C-band and Ku-band transponders serving South America from this orbital location.

"Anik G1 will add meaningful incremental capacity to Telesat's fleet that will contribute to our anticipated growth in 2013 and beyond," said Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat.

"We are pleased that a significant portion of Anik G1's capacity is pre-sold for 15 years to blue chip customers like Shaw Direct and Astrium Services. We look forward to delivering to them the outstanding quality and reliability they have come to expect from Telesat and to expanding the C-band and Ku-band services we provide to the rapidly growing South American market."

Telesat's Newest Satellite
Anik G1 was launched on an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket from the Baikonur Space Center in the Republic of Kazakhstan today at 12:36 a.m. local time. The satellite separated from the upper stage of the rocket and its signal was acquired by Telesat's tracking station in Gnangara, Australia (near Perth) shortly after spacecraft separation, about nine hours after liftoff.

The ILS Proton Breeze M was built by Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and International Launch Services provided mission management.

Anik G1 was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral (SSL) and is based on SSL's highly reliable 1300 platform. The satellite has a mass of approximately 4900 kg and an expected 15 year mission life. Anik G1 will enter into commercial service after it has successfully completed orbit raising and comprehensive in-orbit testing.