INTELSAT V was built by FORD AEROSPACE (with Marconi as a sub-contractor). Original contract was for 7 satellites. Eventually 15 were ordered and 13 are now in orbit. 2 were destroyed on launch - Atlas/Ariane. The satellites are 3 axis stabilised. A total of 440 transponders launched. Only 1 has stopped working. Design lifetime of 2 years for these parts. Said to have cost INTELSAT $650 million. .
The $650 million is made by INTELSAT each year by charging the 'phone companies that use it The INTELSAT system has been in operation since the mid 1960's, and the satellites (spacecraft) in use have changed over the years. For the most part, the replacements of the satellites can be attributed to the failures they incur over their lifetime. There have been at the least eight distinctive generations or series of satellites used in the system and often there have been a mixture of different types in orbit simultaneously. Today however, only the INTELSAT V series and up, which began being launched since the early 1980's are in use. With the introduction of each new satellite series comes new features, specifically the capacity to transmit more data in the same amount of time. The general purpose INTELSAT V series was capable of handling 12 000 two-way phone calls and two television signals simultaneously, weighed more than two tons .
The Intelsat arrangements covered telephone service between and within nations, especially those where thin internal communications networks served large areas. The advent of satellite service made it possible for these countries to leap past the costly and lengthy process of building an extensive array of cables and radio towers for long-distance service, such as the United States had in place. Instead they could simply set up ground stations with their fixed antennas and lease channels on an Intelsat spacecraft. Then, when domestic demand increased, their governments could purchase complete communications satellites for their own use.
