December 23, 2021 – Inmarsat and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) announced the successful launch of Inmarsat’s first satellite in the Inmarsat-6 series (I-6 F1) by MHI’s H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 45 (H-IIA F45). H-IIA F45, the latest example of Japan’s H-IIA flagship launch vehicle series, followed the planned trajectory, and the successful separation of I-6 F1 from H-IIA F45 was confirmed about 26 minutes after lift-off. Inmarsat’s sixth-generation (I-6) satellites will be the company’s first to host dual-payloads, utilising different frequency bands. The I-6s will support L-band (ELERA) and Ka-band (Global Xpress) services as part of the company’s unique, global, multi-dimensional, dynamic mesh network ORCHESTRA. I-6 F1 was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space and is the most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever launched. The H-IIA is Japan’s flagship launch vehicle and one of the most reliable in the world. MHI provides its launch services with the H-IIA launch vehicle, which, with the success of H-IIA F45, has achieved a success rate of 97.8%, and a cumulative success rate of 98.1% including H-IIA and H-IIB. MHI is committed to providing secure delivery of a customer’s satellite on the planned date with high reliability so that customers can commence their business operations as planned.