RESTON, Va. / Pembroke, Bermuda, March 23, 2009 – International Launch Services (ILS) and Intelsat announced a contract signed on March 23, 2009, for launch of the Intelsat 16 satellite on an ILS Proton later this year. Contract terms were not disclosed. The satellite, built by Orbital Sciences, is expected to be delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late this fall.

Intelsat 16 is a 2,500 kg satellite that will be placed at the orbital location of 58 degrees west longitude. Intelsat 16 will provide high power Ku-band capacity to support expanded services to direct-to-home customers in Latin America. The satellite is an Orbital 2.4 platform, and will serve as a complement to the Intelsat 9 and as a backup to Intelsat 11.

Frank McKenna, President of ILS said, “ILS is pleased to launch another Intelsat mission on Proton to support their requirements for on-time delivery of the Intelsat 16 satellite. We have demonstrated responsiveness to our customer’s near term needs and created real, bottom-line value for Intelsat and their customers.”

Ken Lee, Intelsat’s Senior Vice President Space Systems said, “ILS Proton is the right solution for our business; it provides the critical schedule assurance we need to place the Intelsat 16 into orbit.  We can count on ILS and Proton to ensure on-time delivery for the success of our business.”