Telesat Successfully Launches Telstar 19 VANTAGE Bringing New High Throughput Ku and Ka-band Capacity across the Americas and Atlantic

Innovative satellite will serve growing consumer, enterprise and mobility markets from Telesat’s prime orbital location of 63 degrees West, the same now used by Telesat’s Telstar 14R

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telesat announced today the successful launch of its new Telstar 19 VANTAGE high throughput satellite (HTS) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff occurred on Sunday, July 22nd, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Built by SSL, a Maxar Technologies Company, Telstar 19 VANTAGE is the latest in a new generation of Telesat satellites with capacity optimized to serve the types of bandwidth intensive applications increasingly in demand by users worldwide.

Operating from Telesat’s prime orbital location of 63 degrees West, the same as Telesat’s highly utilized Telstar 14R satellite, Telstar 19 VANTAGE will bring a new level of performance and value for satellite broadband requirements on land, at sea and in the air. It will have distinct zones of coverage across the Americas and Atlantic, combining broad regional beams and high throughput spot beams in Ku-band with additional HTS spot beams in Ka-band. Through these innovative capacity and coverage options, Telstar 19 VANTAGE will deliver important advantages to Telesat customers who serve growing consumer, enterprise and mobility markets.

As previously announced, Hughes Network Systems LLC (Hughes) has signed a 15-year agreement for Telstar 19 VANTAGE Ka-band capacity that Hughes will utilize to expand its broadband satellite services for consumers and businesses in five South American countries. Hughes will refer to this capacity as “Hughes 63 West.”

Telesat also has long-term contracts for the entire Ka-band capacity of Telstar 19 VANTAGE over Northern Canada, including providing Bell Canada subsidiary Northwestel with the HTS spot beam capacity required to enhance broadband connectivity for all 25 communities in Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory.  

“The pre-launch agreements Telesat has secured with Hughes and Bell Canada, combined with strong interest from other leading satellite service providers across the Americas and Atlantic, confirm that Telstar 19 VANTAGE delivers superior performance and value for today’s bandwidth intensive applications,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “The design and capabilities of Telstar 19 VANTAGE enable our customers to provide more advanced satellite broadband to their end users. We would like to thank SpaceX for the successful launch of Telstar 19 VANTAGE and for their dedication and professionalism throughout this mission. In a few weeks, Telesat will again be working with SpaceX for the launch of our next satellite, Telstar 18 VANTAGE over Asia.”

Telesat’s Newest Satellite
SpaceX successfully launched Telstar 19 VANTAGE to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) aboard a new Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was at 1:50am ET on Sunday, July 22nd. About 33 minutes after liftoff, Telesat’s newest satellite with a launch mass of 7,080 kg was deployed from the Falcon 9. Ku-band coverages of Telstar 19 VANTAGE include: Brazil regional beam, North Atlantic regional beam and HTS spot beams over Brazil and the Andean region. Ka-band HTS spot beams of Telstar 19 VANTAGE cover: South America, the Caribbean, the North Atlantic and Northern Canada.

Telstar 19 VANTAGE is expected to enter commercial service this summer after it has successfully completed orbit raising and comprehensive in-orbit testing. The satellite has a 15 year design life.

About Telesat (www.telesat.com)
Telesat is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, the company’s state-of-the-art fleet consists of 16 GEO satellites, the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 and one Phase 1 LEO satellite which is the start of Telesat’s planned global LEO satellite constellation that will offer low latency, high throughput broadband services. An additional GEO satellite is scheduled for launch next month. Telesat is also a leading technical consultant providing high value expertise and support to satellite operators, insurers and other industry participants on a global basis. Privately held, Telesat’s principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:LORL).

Forward-Looking Statements Safe Harbor
This news release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are ‘‘forward-looking statements’’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words “will”, “deliver”, “expand”, “enable”, “expected to”, “scheduled for”, or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Detailed information about some of the known risks and uncertainties is included in the “Risk Factors” section of Telesat Canada’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 which can be obtained on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov. Known risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: risks associated with operating satellites and providing satellite services, including satellite construction or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit failures or impaired satellite performance, the ability to successfully deploy an advanced global LEO satellite constellation, volatility in exchange rates and risks associated with domestic and foreign government regulation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. The information contained in this news release reflects Telesat’s beliefs, assumptions, intentions, plans and expectations as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, Telesat disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise the information herein.

For further information:
Gerry Nagler, Telesat +1 908 470-4907 (gnagler@telesat.com)