A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends.
Abertis Acquires Telefonica Hispasat Stake
On February 21, telecommunications operator Telefonica announced the sale to Abertis Telecom of its 13.23% equity interest in Spanish satellite operator Hispasat. The transaction, which is contingent upon Spanish government approval, is valued at $161m and will increase Abertis' stake in Hispasat to 46.6%. Hispasat's remaining equity is held by Eutelsat SA (Eutelsat), with 27.7%, and a group of Spanish government institutions, with 25.7%. Last month, Abertis sold roughly half of its 31.4% equity interest in Eutelsat in a transaction valued at approximately $1.3b.
Avanti Raises $120m to Fund New Satellite
On February 6, Avanti Communications Group plc announced its placement of 26.8m shares with new and existing institutional investors to raise $120m for the design, manufacture and launch of its third satellite, HYLAS 3. HYLAS 3 will fly as a hosted payload on a new European Space Agency (ESA) satellite pursuant to ESA's recent selection of Avanti as a partner for the satellite. Expected to be delivered in orbit in 2015, HYLAS 3 will have up to 4GHz of Ka-band capacity configured across 8 beams within 1 steerable antenna with a visible earth view covering Africa and the Middle East.
February Launches
February 13 – The European Space Agency inaugurated its new Vega launcher by successfully placing 2 scientific satellites and 7 picosatellites into orbit. Designed to launch payloads of up to 1500 kg to an altitude of 700 km, the Vega launcher represents Europe's new launch vehicle for scientific and institutional missions. Following this successful initial launch, Arianespace will be responsible for the commercialization and operation of the Vega launch vehicle. February 15 - ILS International Launch Services (ILS) successfully launched the SES-4 satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Proton Breeze M launcher. Built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), SES-4 carries 52 C-band and 72 Kuband transponders, as well as 4 regional Kuband spot beams, and is the largest satellite in the 50-satellite fleet of Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. From its 22ºW orbital location, SES-4 will replace existing SES capacity over the Atlantic Ocean and provide additional coverage of North and South America, Europe and Africa.
February Satellite Orders
February 8 - Australian satellite operatorNBN Co
Limited (NBN) announced an agreement valued at
approximately $668m for the manufacture of 2 high-throughput
Ka-band satellites by SS/L. The satellites, NBN Co
1A and NBN Co 1B, will be
based on the SS/L 1300 platform and provide broadband
services to remote areas in Australia. Expected to be launched in
2015, the 2 satellites will offer wholesale customers initial peak
speeds of 12 megabits/second download and 1 megabit/second upload
for the same monthly price as is paid by fiber customers. Pursuant
to their agreement, SS/L will also provide NBN with 5 years of
tracking, telemetry and control support and 15 years of in-orbit
service support. February 23 – ESA signed a $1.8b
contract with Thales Alenia Space for the
Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program,
which involves the manufacture of 6 weather satellites and the
provision of meteorological services for 20 years beginning in
2018. The MTG program is a continuation of earlier generation ESA
programs but will feature, for the first time,
three-axis-stabilized satellites. All 6 satellites, 4 of which will
be imaging satellites and 2 of which will be sounding satellites,
will be based on the Small-Geo
multifunction platform being developed for ESA by OHG
AG. Using Ka-band, the MTG satellites will provide
100 times the data volume of their predecessor secondgeneration
satellites.
February Launch Services Orders
On February 8, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) announced an agreement for the launch of 2 AsiaSat satellites, each in the first half of 2014, on a Falcon 9 launcher from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellites, AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8, are both currently under manufacture by SS/L and will be based on the SS/L 1300 platform, with AsiaSat 6 carrying 28 high-powered Cband transponders and AsiaSat 8 carrying 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam. AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8 will increase AsiaSat's fleet from 4 to 6 satellites and provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art satellite services to customers in Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
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