INMARSAT 5-F3

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INMARSAT 5-F3 is classified as:

Geostationary

NORAD ID: 40882

Int'l Code: 2015-042A

Launch date: August 28, 2015
Source: International Mobile Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) (IM)
Launch site: TYURATAM MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (TTMTR)

INMARSAT 5-F3 is the 3rd satellite of Inmarsat's Global Xpress network. The first two Inmarsat Global Xpress satellites launched cover Europe, the Middle East Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas, while INMARSAT 5-F3 will cover Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Each Global Xpress satellite, part of Inmarsat's fifth generation fleet, carries 89 fixed and steerable spot beams in Ka-band. The company's earlier satellites broadcast in L-band, but Inmarsat switched to Ka-band for the Global Xpress system, offering improved downlink communications speeds to 50 megabits per second, with up to 5 megabits per second on the uplink side. Inmarsat says major customers of the Global Xpress network include airlines, which use satellite links for safety and passenger entertainment, the maritime industry, oil and gas platforms, media companies, and the military. The improved broadband connections will give airline passengers more options for entertainment and work while in the air, and could help air traffic controllers and airlines track the status of jumbo jets flying outside the reach of terrestrial radars.