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Canadian Telecommunications Satellite ANIK F2

Launch: July 17, 2004
Status: Active

Anik F2, Telesat Canada's innovative, high-speed Ka-band, multimedia telecommunications satellite ascended from the forest canopy of the Arianespace launch facilities in Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

Positioned in geostationary orbit, 35,786 kilometres above the equator, Anik F2 is optimized for a wide range of leading-edge telecommunications services.

At 5,950 kilograms, it is more than 10 times the size of Anik A1, the first satellite launched by Telesat in 1972. When launched, it was the world’s largest, most complex, and most powerful commercial communications satellites ever built. Anik F2 is a Boeing 702-series satellite, designed to support and enhance current North American voice, data, and broadcast services with its 38 Ka-band; 32 Ku-band; 24 C-band transponders. In fact, this fifteenth satellite to have been launched by Telesat became the first commercial satellite to offer Ka-band services in North America. What the new Ka-band means to users is that it provides them with access to new broadband capabilities such as two-way Internet services.