LAUNCH MISSION
USAF Atlas IIA INTELSAT K
Launch Pad
Launch Complex 36B
Description
Intelsat K, Intelsats first Ku-band only satellite, was originally built as Satcom K4 for GE Americom, but was acquired in 1989 and required extensive payload modifications. It is a single spacecraft purchased to meet critical requirements for Ku-band capacity over the Atlantic region, driven primarily by international broadcasters.
Atlas IIA
Rocket Description
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. It was designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Atlas II, IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1991 and 2004; all sixty-three launches were successes, making the Atlas II the most reliable launch system in history.