Intelsat S.A., the world's leading provider of satellite services, announced Friday that at 1:57 a.m. EST, the launch of the Intelsat 27 satellite failed approximately 40 seconds after liftoff.

A Zenit 3SL launch vehicle was carrying the satellite built by Boeing. Intelsat 27 was to operate from 304.5+ East, an orbital location currently occupied by Intelsat 805 and Galaxy 11. The satellite was designed to serve customers in North America, South America, the North Atlantic and Europe.

Sea Launch will establish a Failure Review Oversight Board to determine the cause of the failure. Service to customers on Intelsat 805 and Galaxy 11 will not be interrupted as a result of today's event.

Intelsat is committed to working with its customers to identify the most appropriate solutions for service continuity. The satellite and launch were fully insured.

"We are clearly disappointed with the outcome of the launch. The cause of the failure is unknown, but we will work closely with our launch and manufacturing partners to determine the necessary next steps," said Intelsat CEO David McGlade.