The company has also partnered with Cisco on the development of its Service Enablement Platform (ISEP) and Inmarsat Gateway, which will deliver applications from its certified Application Partners tailored to meet Global Xpress users’ needs.

Rupert Pearce, the Inmarsat boss, said ahead of the launch: “The completion of the Global Xpress (GX) constellation will be a significant milestone for our organisation and is fundamental to the delivery of a new era in mobile satellite communications which will change the future for us all.”

The Russian Federation has successfully launched a rocket carrier with a British satellite in the first such launch since an engine failure in May resulted in a commercial satellite being destroyed. The third satellite will provide communications services to the Pacific region.

The launch vehicle is meant to carry the United Kingdom’s Inmarsat telecommunications satellite into a so-called supersynchronous orbit, almost double the 22,400-mile altitude that similar devices are stationed on.

“We have a very good book of business waiting to transition to Global Xpress”, which will offer greater bandwidth and reliability than existing satellite networks, he said.

An illustration of how the trio of Inmarsat satellites will provide coverage around the world. The overall height of the three stages of the Proton booster is 42.3 m (138.8 ft).

Following a successful launch readiness review I-5 F3 was cleared for rollout from the final assembly building to the launch zone Pad 39 on 24 August. The first, Inmarsat-5F1, was launched in late 2013. This was followed by the launch of Inmarsat-5 F2 on 1 February 2015, which covers the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean and which will enter commercial service later this month.

Together they will deliver Global Xpress, the world’s first globally available, Ka-band, high-speed broadband network connectivity service from a single, trusted operator – whether on land, at sea or in the air.

Inmarsat-5F3 joins a fleet of Inmarsat-5F1 and Inmarsat-5F2 operating in regular geostationary orbit.