The Maxar-built Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 satellites for Intelsat have arrived at Cape Canaveral. The two geostationary communications satellites will launch together in a stacked configuration at the beginning of November on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Galaxy 31 (left) and Galaxy 32 (right) are shown here at Maxar’s manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California, ahead of shipment to launch base. These satellites will provide primarily video distribution services to customers in the continental U.S.
Intelsat ordered five geostationary communications satellites from Maxar in 2020 as part of its effort to transition its services—uninterrupted—as part of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plan to reallocate parts of the C-band spectrum for 5G terrestrial wireless services.
Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 are built on Maxar’s proven 1300-class platform, which offers the flexibility and power needed for a broad range of customer missions.
Maxar has built nearly 60 spacecraft for Intelsat since the 1970s, including these satellites. The launch of Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 will be broadcast on SpaceX’s YouTube channel.
Modular construction with flexible tailoring
Since 1989, Maxar’s 1300-class bus has been serving governments and businesses as the most popular communications satellite platform. Today, there are 90 1300-class spacecraft on orbit.
Meet the 1300-class