Intelsat Plans To Start 1R Drift June 1

While awaiting a ruling on its application to permanently relocate Intelsat 1R to 50.1 degrees west (see 1602220010), Intelsat is seeking special temporary authority to drift the satellite from its current home at 50 degrees west and to operate it at 50.1 degrees west. In an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday, Intelsat said 1R is being moved after transfer of some of its traffic to the recently launched Intelsat 29e, with the drift expected to start June 1 and to take "a few days."