Inmarsat launches fourth GX satellite with SpaceX rocket

Using a SpaceX rocket, Inmarsat has successfully launched the fourth satellite of its Global Xpress high-speed broadband programme, allowing the company to offer guaranteed global connectivity worldwide.

The satellite, Inmarsat-5 F4 was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket just past midnight London time from launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with telemetry acquired from Inmarsat's Perth ground station an hour later.

"The launch team from Inmarsat and Boeing Network & Space Systems, the manufacturer of I-5 F4, are now raising the spacecraft to a geostationary orbit, at which point the satellite will deploy its solar arrays and reflectors, and undergo payload testing," the FTSE 250 company said.

I-5 F4 joins the three GX satellites already in orbit, with the fourth satellite adding further capacity to the GX network, as well as in-orbit redundancy that further upgrades the reliability and resilience of Inmarsat's service offerings.

Chief executive Rupert Pearce said reliability and resilience were crucial: "I-5 F4 augments the capabilities of GX and, alongside our existing L-band constellations, enables Inmarsat to provide guaranteed global connectivity to industries and governments worldwide.

"I would like to thank all my colleagues at Inmarsat, whose hard work and dedication is seeing Global Xpress setting a new standard of excellence for broadband communications in established VSAT markets, such the maritime and government sectors, while also rapidly gaining strong traction in new market areas, such as the rapidly expanding aviation passenger connectivity sector."