Photos: Inmarsat satellite lifts off
All systems go for mobile communications
The Proton Breeze M rocket has successfully launched the third Inmarsat-4 (I-4) satellite, which weighs more than six tonnes and is the size of a London double-decker bus.
The satellite was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier this week. The satellite has been in development for two decades, taking in $1.5bn investment.
Photo credit: Inmarsat
This third satellite (pictured here during integration) will increase Inmarsat's global mobile satellite comms coverage from 98 per cent to complete coverage of the world's population, servicing industries including shipping, oil, defence, aviation and the media.
Photo credit: Inmarsat
The I-4 is still in need of thorough testing before it can be put into geostationary orbit to circle the Earth's equator.
Inmarsat said that once the third I-4 is operational, it will be the only fully funded next-generation network for mobile satellite services.
Photo credit: Inmarsat