INTELSAT 23 (IS-23)

Intelsat 23 (IS-23) is a commercial geostationary communications satellite operated by Intelsat, one of the world's largest fixed-satellite service providers. Catalogued by the United States Space Surveillance Network under NORAD ID 38867 and international designator 2012-057A, the satellite was launched on October 14, 2012 (October 13, 2012 at 20:00 Eastern Daylight Time), and as of the time of this writing remains operational in geosynchronous orbit. It occupies a slot at 53° west longitude, where it serves as a telecommunications relay platform covering portions of the Western Hemisphere, Western Europe, and Africa.

Mission and Purpose

The primary role of Intelsat 23 is to provide commercial communications services across a broad geographic footprint that encompasses the Americas, Western Europe, and Africa. This coverage arc reflects the strategic importance of the 53° west orbital slot, a position well-suited to bridging transatlantic communications links while also serving the densely populated coastal regions of South America and the eastern seaboard of North America.

Intelsat 23 was designed to replace an earlier satellite, Intelsat 707, which had occupied the same orbital position. This kind of like-for-like replacement is standard practice in commercial satellite operations: as a satellite ages and its fuel or power-generation capacity diminishes, operators introduce a successor vehicle to maintain continuity of service for the customers and broadcasters relying on that orbital slot. By slotting IS-23 into the same position, Intelsat could transfer existing traffic and contractual obligations with minimal disruption to end users.

The specific payload configuration of Intelsat 23 — the number of transponders, frequency bands, and precise power levels — is not detailed in the publicly available catalog record for this object. What is broadly understood, consistent with Intelsat's commercial model, is that such satellites typically carry a combination of C-band and Ku-band transponders, supporting a mix of services that can include broadband internet, broadcast television distribution, corporate network connectivity, and government communications. The satellite was designed with an intended operational lifespan of 15 years, meaning it was nominally expected to remain in service into the late 2020s, though actual operational decisions are made by the operator based on on-orbit performance.

Orbit and Tracking

Intelsat 23 resides in a near-perfect geostationary orbit. The tracking data registered for this object shows an apogee of 35,796 km and a perigee of 35,795 km above Earth's surface — a difference of just one kilometer, indicating an exceptionally circular orbit. The inclination is recorded at 0.0°, meaning the satellite's orbital plane is aligned essentially exactly with Earth's equatorial plane. Together, these parameters define a textbook geostationary configuration.

The orbital period of Intelsat 23 is 1,436.2 minutes — very close to 23 hours and 56 minutes, which is one sidereal day. This near-perfect synchronization with Earth's rotation means that from any fixed point on the ground within its coverage footprint, the satellite appears to remain stationary in the sky, hovering continuously at the same point above the equator at 53° west longitude. This property is what makes the geostationary orbit so valuable for communications: ground-based antennas can be fixed in place, pointed at a single position, and maintain an uninterrupted link without any need for tracking mechanisms.

For satellite observers and tracking purposes, geostationary satellites like Intelsat 23 present a distinctive profile in orbital databases. Unlike low-Earth-orbit objects that move rapidly across the sky, IS-23 maintains a fixed apparent position when viewed from the ground. It does not produce visible passes in the conventional sense. On tracking platforms, its elements reflect this stability — the near-zero eccentricity and inclination are characteristic signatures of a well-maintained commercial GEO asset.

The satellite's catalog entry (NORAD 38867, COSPAR 2012-057A) allows it to be unambiguously identified and tracked within the Space Surveillance Network's catalog, which monitors and maintains records for all known resident space objects in Earth orbit. As of the catalog data underlying this entry, Intelsat 23 has not reentered the atmosphere and remains in orbit.

Design and Operator

Intelsat 23 was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation, the American aerospace company that at the time operated one of the more active commercial satellite production lines in the industry. Orbital Sciences has since been acquired and integrated into Northrop Grumman's space systems division, but at the time of IS-23's construction it was a prominent independent manufacturer offering the STAR bus platform and related satellite architectures for commercial customers. The specific bus and payload configuration details for Intelsat 23 are not recorded in the public catalog entry.

The satellite's mass is not publicly documented in the available catalog record for this object, and so no figure is provided here. Commercial geostationary communications satellites of this era typically range widely in launch mass depending on payload and propulsion requirements, and without verified data it would be inappropriate to estimate.

Intelsat itself is a Luxembourg-incorporated satellite services company with a long history stretching back to the 1960s, when it was founded as an intergovernmental organization to develop global satellite communications infrastructure. Over subsequent decades it was privatized and restructured, becoming a commercial entity operating one of the largest fleets of geostationary communications satellites in the world. The company provides capacity to broadcasters, internet service providers, governments, and telecommunications carriers across the globe. The 53° west slot served by Intelsat 23 is one of many orbital positions in Intelsat's managed fleet, each chosen for its suitability to specific regional traffic demands.

Status and Significance

Intelsat 23 represents a routine but important element of the commercial satellite communications infrastructure that underpins daily life for millions of users across the Americas and across the Atlantic. Its role as a replacement for Intelsat 707 illustrates the generational nature of geostationary satellite operations: orbital slots are long-term strategic assets, and operators invest in successor satellites to ensure continuity decades into the future.

With a designed service life of 15 years from its 2012 launch, IS-23 was nominally expected to remain a functioning part of Intelsat's fleet through roughly the mid-to-late 2020s. The actual operational and commercial status of the satellite at any given point depends on factors including fuel reserves, hardware health, and business decisions by Intelsat. The catalog record does not specify a decay or reentry date, consistent with the satellite still being present in orbit. Geostationary satellites that are retired from active service are typically moved to a "graveyard" orbit several hundred kilometers above the geostationary belt, where they pose no interference risk to operational spacecraft, and are decommissioned in place. Whether IS-23 has reached that stage or continues in active service is not reflected in the orbital catalog data presented here.

The satellite's position at 53° west has historically been a commercially valuable one given its line of sight to both North and South America simultaneously, along with coverage extending eastward across the Atlantic. This geometry allows a single satellite to serve as a hub for transatlantic data and broadcast traffic, a function that has grown in commercial importance as demand for global connectivity has expanded. Intelsat 23's contribution to that network, while not dramatic in the public eye, reflects the kind of quiet infrastructure work that commercial geostationary satellites perform continuously and largely invisibly.

Observing Intelsat 23

Because Intelsat 23 occupies a geostationary orbit at approximately 35,796 km altitude, it does not produce the kind of visible passes that low-Earth-orbit satellites do. From ground-based observers in its coverage zone, IS-23 appears as a fixed point relative to the background stars — it neither rises nor sets, and does not arc across the sky. For practical purposes, it is not an object that casual observers or amateur satellite trackers would typically seek to observe visually.

However, it is possible for skilled observers using telescopes with precisely calibrated tracking to observe geostationary satellites. They appear as faint, stationary points of reflected sunlight against the moving stellar background. Intelsat 23, like other GEO objects, can be identified in this way by locating it at its expected right ascension and declination corresponding to its fixed longitude of 53° west above the equator. The satellite is best positioned for visual observation from locations within its intended coverage footprint — broadly, the eastern portions of North America, Central America, South America, the eastern Atlantic, Western Europe, and West Africa. Observers at high latitudes will find the satellite progressively lower on the horizon, eventually below the geometric horizon for locations near or beyond the polar circles.

For tracking and identification purposes on this site, IS-23 can be referenced using NORAD catalog number 38867 or its international designator 2012-057A.