Anik F2 will offer fixed satellite services, including Internet access and multimedia services, across North America using 108 active transponders, 52 of them in Ka-band.

HSC and Telesat Canada did not disclose financial terms. Anik F2 is scheduled to join its sister satellite, called Anik F1, sometime in late 2002. Anik F1, Telesat's first 702 model, is scheduled for launch this summer.

"Our long-standing relationship with Telesat Canada is now well into the next generation of satellite communications," noted Tig H. Krekel, HSC president and CEO.

"After 28 years of supplying quality Hughes 333 and 376 models, we are now supplying the powerhouse 702 satellites for the Telesat constellation. This second 702, Anik F2, includes the Ka-band for the first time, making it the largest and most powerful in the Anik fleet," Krekel added.

Anik F2 will provide high-speed Internet and multimedia services. The comprehensive Ka-band payload features inbound and outbound multibeam coverage of North America, and an onboard digital processor linking small terminals in Eastern and Western Canada via two spot beams.

"Anik F2 will be the most advanced satellite Telesat has ever launched," said Larry Boisvert, Telesat's president and CEO. "Together, our two Anik F satellites will enable Telesat to provide valuable capacity for North and South American customers with telecommunications, broadcasting and multimedia needs. And we are delighted to be working with Hughes, our partner on many successful satellite projects over the past three decades."

"This new satellite will be developed through a strong partnership with Canadian industry and government," said Krekel. "For instance, the Ka-band payload includes an onboard digital signal processor from EMS Technologies, and COM DEV's Beam Link(TM) units being developed under Canadian Space Agency sponsorship."

Anik F2 will operate from Telesat's orbital slot of 111.1 degrees West longitude. In addition to Ka-band, Anik F2 will carry 24 C-band transponders and 32 Ku-band transponders and deliver 14 kilowatts of end-of-life payload power. To generate such high power, the two solar wings employ high-efficiency, triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cells. Anik F2 also carries Hughes' flight-proven xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) for all on-orbit maneuvering. Construction will occur in the HSC factory near Los Angeles International Airport.

Hughes introduced the 702 model in 1995, in response to customer requests for a high-power, high-capacity, multiple-payload satellite that could be delivered in minimum time and be launched on a variety of vehicles.

Hughes built the Anik A series of three Hughes 333 model satellites, the first of which was launched Nov. 9, 1972. (Anik means "little brother" in the Inuit language.) These carried 12 C-band transponders, and had just 300 watts of power. They were followed 10 years later by the Anik C and D series, which were Hughes 376 models built by Hughes and Spar Aerospace Ltd. of Toronto.

The three Anik C spacecraft each carried 16 Ku-band transponders, and had 900 watts. The two Anik D satellites carried 24 transponders in C-band and generated 1000 watts. (Anik C1, the last Anik C satellite to be launched, is still operational. Launched April 12, 1985, it is scheduled for retirement in 2002. Anik C2 was retired in January 1998, 6.5 years beyond its 8-year intended service life. Both Anik D satellites have been retired.)

With more than 30 years of engineering and technical experience, Telesat is the world's most experienced commercial satellite operator. The company made history in 1972 with the launch of Anik A1, the first domestic commercial communications satellite in geostationary orbit. Telesat now provides telecommunications and broadcast distribution services in the Americas and is a leading consultant, operator and partner in satellite ventures around the globe.