Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) and Telesat today announced that it has been selected to provide a new satellite, called Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul 2, which will replace Telesat's Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1, utilizing SS/L's SSL-1300 bus to deliver high-powered Ku-band services to growing markets throughout the Americas and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Space Systems/Loral designed Telstar 14R with five antenna beams that have high-power transponders with substantial on-orbit switching capability. The satellite will provide additional capacity and improved capabilities in its coverage areas, which include: Brazil, the Continental United States (including the Gulf of Mexico and the northern Caribbean), the Southern Cone of South America, the Andean region (including Central America and the southern Caribbean), and the North and Mid-Atlantic Ocean.

The new Ku-band satellite will replace Telstar 14 at its 63 degrees West orbital location and will have 46 active transponders, of which 27 will be fixed and 19 will be switchable.