BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan – New DTH TV capacity is on the way (once positioning and testing are done) as Telesat has successfully launched (below) its state-of-the-art Anik F1R satellite.
The new bird will “provide valuable capacity for Canadian direct-to-home satellite television, along with a range of other telecommunications and broadcasting services. The spacecraft will also feature a navigation payload that will make North American air navigation more reliable and more accurate than ever before,” says the press release. 
That navigation payload will help guide aircraft.
"The launch of Telesat’s Anik F1R satellite reinforces our dedication to sophisticated, accessible and highly reliable communications – around the clock and across the Americas," said Larry Boisvert, Telesat’s president and CEO, in the release.
Anik F1R was launched on the Proton / Breeze M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan at 3:53 a.m. local time. The satellite separated from the upper stage of the rocket and its signal was acquired by Telesat’s tracking station in Perth, Australia just over nine hours later.
Manufactured by EADS Astrium, Telesat’s Anik F1R is the company’s first European-built satellite. International Launch Services (ILS) provided mission management. Anik F1R represents Telesat’s sixteenth successful satellite launch, and its third with ILS.
Anik F1R’s navigation payload will enhance the global positioning system for aviation use in Canada and the United States, says the company. The payload is part of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s Wide Area Augmentation System Geostationary Communication and Control Segment initiative, which is operated by Lockheed Martin to provide precision guidance to aircraft.
Telesat will officially take possession of Anik F1R this fall, after the satellite has completed its rigorous in-orbit testing. The company will then transfer the existing North American traffic from the Anik F1 satellite to Anik F1R, allowing Anik F1 to focus exclusively on service to South America into the next decade.
Telesat’s Anik F1R is equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders, 24 C-band transponders, and two navigation transponders. The spacecraft has a launch mass of 4471 kg (9836 lb), a solar array span of 36 metres once deployed in orbit, and spacecraft power of 10 kW at end of life. Anik F1R has an estimated mission life of 15 years.
