U.S. broadband airliner satellite launched

December 30, 2005

A communications satellite designed to provide wireless broadband to airliners has been carried into space by France's Alcatel Alenia Space.

The hybrid C/Ku-band AMC-23 satellite was designed by Boeing and will carry high-speed broadband to planes in the Pacific region and provide services for broadcasters, cable programmers, government agencies and Internet service providers.

AMC-23 is dedicated to U.S. operator SES Americom and was designed to the specifications of its customer, Connexion. The bird is the fourth Spacebus class satellite delivered to SES in the past seven years and the fourth Spacebus 4000 telecom satellite to be launched in 2005.

International Launch Services carried out the launch of AMC-23 aboard a Proton Breeze M rocket Thursday from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

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