{mprestriction ids="1,2"}THOR 7 was launched on Sunday April 26, 2015 at 20:00 UTC, from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 launcher. The satellite was successfully injected into geostationary transfer orbit approximately 28 minutes after lift-off.
THOR 7, manufactured by Space Systems Loral (SSL), features the company’s first high-throughput satellite (HTS) Ka-band payload, specifically designed for the mobility VSAT market to provide coverage over the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the Red Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Mediterranean.
"I am delighted to see that THOR 7 has safely reached geostationary transfer orbit and thank both Arianespace and our manufacturing partner SSL for this successful launch," said Morten Tengs, CEO, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting.
"From its 1°West location, the THOR 7 satellite will provide growth capacity for DTH services across Central and Eastern Europe and deliver optimal satellite coverage across Europe's business shipping lanes for the provision of maritime VSAT services."
THOR 7 will now undergo in-orbit testing. Television services are expected to begin in six weeks, though additional testing will take place on the HTS Ka-band services before the full commercial service is ready, expected to be in Q4, 2015.{/mprestriction}
