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Feature story

The satellite mission director for Intelsat New Dawn continues a long relationship with Arianespace

March 30, 2011 – Ariane Flight VA201

For Brian Sing, the Intelsat New Dawn satellite mission director, Ariane Flight VA201 has a particularly special meaning.

Sing has been working with satellite payloads orbited by Arianespace launches for nearly 20 years, and says he is proud to be involved in this upcoming flight with Intelsat New Dawn. 
 
“As this is the first satellite designed for Africa by Africa, it’s very special for me to be involved with the mission,” explained Sing.  “Intelsat New Dawn will have the important role of helping promote the African continent’s business environment with services that include backhaul and internet capability.”

Sing’s experience with Arianespace dates back to his days at Hughes Communications and the 1993 launch of Galaxy IV from French Guiana, which was lofted by an Ariane 4.  His long-term relationship continued in his satellite mission director’s role after Hughes Communications’ merger with PanAmSat, and the company’s subsequent acquisition by Intelsat.

“I always have enjoyed working with Arianespace, the Guiana Space Center and the French CNES space agency – they make a great technical team,” he added.  “From a launcher viewpoint, we’ve had great success with Ariane 5, which is one of the world’s premier launch vehicles."

Sing also has good words for the Spaceport’s modern infrastructure.  “These facilities are some of the best when compared to all other launch bases – modern, fully functional and state-of-the-art,” he said.  “Intelsat’s satellite teams are always pleased to be working here.”

While handling his satellite mission director duties for Intelsat New Dawn on the upcoming Ariane 5 mission, Sing has been providing regular postings on an Intelsat blog, which he shares the writing duties with Jean-Luc Froeliger, Intelsat’s Senior Director – Space Systems Acquisition.  See their postings at: http://blog.intelsat.com/.