Hong Kong, 1 August 2014 – AsiaSat 8, the latest communications satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), is scheduled for launch at Hong Kong Time 1:25 p.m. (1:25 a.m. EDT or Cape Canaveral local time) on 5 August by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, U.S.A.
AsiaSat 8 is a Space Systems/Loral 1300 series satellite, and has a design life of 15 years. With 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band payload, AsiaSat 8 will co-locate with AsiaSat 7, where AsiaSat has established networks for service since 1990. The additional capacity from AsiaSat 8 will help to meet the growing market demand for quality satellite services in the Asia-Pacific region.
AsiaSat 8’s powerful Ku-band beams cover China, India, the Middle East and South East Asia, with inter-beam switching capability to provide flexibility to address market requirements and for services including DTH television, private networks and broadband services.
Live webcast of the launch at http://www.asiasat.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or http://www.spacex.com/webcast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will begin approximately 15 minutes before liftoff, at about Hong Kong Time 1:10 p.m. (1:10 a.m. EDT or Cape Canaveral local time) on 5 August.
