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A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends.
DISH and ViaSat Announce Partnership
On January 9, DISH Network L.L.C. (DISH) announced a partnership with ViaSat, Inc. (ViaSat) to offer ViaSat's next-generation satellite broadband service, together with its own satellite television service, in the form of DISH service bundles. The new service bundles will make satellite broadband service available to between 8 - 10 million rural customers that are currently unserved or have access only to lower bandwidth alternatives. Under the terms of the partnership, ViaSat will provide satellite delivery services, while DISH will provide billing, installation, customer service and merchandising. The service bundles will be provided under ViaSat's WildBlue brand and via its Ka-band ViaSat-1 satellite, with download speeds of up to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 3 Mbps.
Abertis Sells Stake in Eutelsat
On January 13, Spanish infrastructure group Abertis Infraestructuras SA (Abertis) sold roughly half of its 31.4% equity interest in European satellite operator Eutelsat SA (Eutelsat) in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3b. The sale involved 35,218,237 ordinary shares of Eutelsat, representing 16% of Eutelsat's total share capital, priced at $35.64 per share. Abertis, reportedly motivated to reduce debt and free up funds for new investments, made a net book gain of approximately $507m on the sale. Pursuant to the terms of the sale, Abertis' remaining shares in Eutelsat, now representing only 15.34% of Eutelsat's total share capital, are subject to a six-month lockup period. The sale was managed by Credit Suisse Group, Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Société Générale SA.
Satellites Healthy In-Orbit
Nigeria's Nigcomsat-1R telecommunications satellite, launched by China Great Wall Industry Corporation on a Long March 3B launcher on December 20, and six Globalstar, Inc. (Globalstar) mobilecommunications satellites, launched on a Russian Soyuz launcher on December 28, are reported as healthy and are being transferred to operational orbits. Nigcomsat- 1R is expected to enter service in spring of this year, while the six Globalstar satellites will use their on-board propulsion systems to climb to a 1,400 km operating orbit in the next few months.
January Launches
On January 9, China Great Wall Industry Corporation successfully launched VesselSat 2, a maritime surveillance satellite, on a Long March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi province. VesselSat 2 was manufactured by Luxembourg-based LuxSpace SARL, a subsidiary of OHB AG of Germany. VesselSat 2 will be used by satellite messaging company ORBCOMM, Inc. (ORBCOMM) in conjunction with the VesselSat 1 satellite, an identical satellite launched in October, as part of ORBCOMM's Automatic Identification System (AIS) service. ORBCOMM's AIS monitors maritime traffic and provides information on ship location, heading and cargo to coastal authorities from positions that are out of range for ground-based coastal radars.
Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul-2 Claim Resolved
Loral Space & Communications Inc. announced in a January 17 filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that its satellite fleet operator subsidiary, Telesat Canada (co-owned with PSP Investments, the Canadian pension fund) received $132.7m in insurance proceeds as settlement for the Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul 2 partial loss claim following its solar array deployment failure in May 2011.
U.S. Supportive of Space Code of Conduct
On January 17, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked that the United States is interested in working with international partners to produce a space code of conduct that does not restrict U.S. national security activities in space. The European Union (EU) recently proposed a space code of conduct that provides rules for operating satellites and other space vehicles in a manner that prevents and reduces the likelihood of future mishaps, such as space collisions, and irresponsible behavior, such as the creation of space debris. Proponents of the space code of conduct posit that, as space grows more and more congested, guidelines for the responsible use of space will become increasingly important for ensuring the long-term sustainability, safety and security of space. Thus far, while Canada and Japan have endorsed the EU's proposed code of conduct, Russia, China, India and Brazil have indicated they will not follow it.
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