MHI Successfully Launches Telesat's Telstar 12 VANTAGE Satellite

The H-IIA launch vehicle F29 lifted off from the Yoshinobu launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center today at 15:50 local time (6:50 GMT and 01:50 EST). The launch vehicle flew as planned and, at about 4 hours and 27 minutes after liftoff, the separation of the Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellite was confirmed. H-IIA F29 incorporates the outcome of the H-IIA Upgrade. The upgrade relates to improvements in the launch vehicle's upper stage and MHI has been implementing these improvements with strong support and oversight from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Telstar 12 VANTAGE replaces and expands on Telesat's Telstar 12 satellite. Telstar 12 has long been valued by the satellite user community for its ability to seamlessly connect the Americas to Europe and the Middle East from 15 West, one of the few orbital locations that enables such coverage. With Telstar 12 VANTAGE, broadband customers in mobility, government, energy and enterprise markets will now have even greater service options between EMEA and the Americas along with powerful new beams over Brazil, Sub-Saharan Africa, the South Atlantic, the Mediterranean and North Sea.

The H-IIA launch vehicle is Japan's flagship launch vehicle and one of the most reliable launch vehicles in the world. Today's launch was the 28th consecutive success of H-IIA/H-IIB launch vehicle and its success rate reaches 97%.

"Telesat would like to congratulate MHI on executing a flawless launch in their first commercial mission," said Dan Goldberg, Telesat's President and CEO. "This is the first of a new generation of Telesat satellites - our Telesat VANTAGE generation - with capacity optimized to serve the types of bandwidth intensive applications increasingly in demand across the satellite industry. We deeply appreciate the efforts of our valued partners - MHI and Airbus Defence and Space - in the successful and timely launch of Telesat's Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellite."

MHI's Vice President & Senior General Manager Naohiko Abe said, "We sincerely thank Telesat for their confidence in our activities, and we also would like to express our gratitude to all of the teams involved, including Telesat, JAXA, Airbus Defence and Space, and MHI, for the significant contributions. This is our first dedicated commercial launch of H-IIA. This successful launch is a huge step for H-IIA to enter the commercial launch services market MHI intends to accelerate more aggressive marketing for H-IIA satellite launch services both in Japan and abroad, and also, to continue playing the key role in the Japanese space industry from now on."