The MEXSAT Bicentenario satellite sent its first signals from space December 19 following launch from Kourou aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.
Bicentenario is the first of three MEXSAT satellites built by Boeing partner Orbital Sciences Corporation for the Transport and Communications Secretariat (SCT) designed to enhance the country’s communications for domestic, military, civil and humanitarian needs.
“The MEXSAT system will enhance Mexico’s disaster-relief and emergency services, and provide satellite broadcasting capabilities in telemedicine and tele-education,” said Craig Cooning, chief executive officer of Boeing Satellite Systems International and vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems.