Space Business Review March 2016

INTELSAT CLOSES $1.25B BOND OFFERING

On March 29, Intelsat S.A. (Intelsat), through its indirect subsidiary Intelsat Jackson Holdings S.A. (Intelsat Jackson), placed $1.25b aggregate principal amount of 8% senior secured notes due 2024 at an offering price of 100%. Intelsat plans to use the net proceeds from the notes for general corporate purposes. The notes are guaranteed by Intelsat Jackson's direct owner, Intelsat (Luxembourg) S.A., and certain subsidiaries and secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all existing and future assets of Intelsat Jackson and the subsidiary guarantors, and the shares held in Intelsat Jackson by its direct owner.

MARCH LAUNCH SERVICES

March 5 - Space Exploration Technologies Corp. successfully launched the SES-9 satellite for SES S.A. on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc., SES-9 is equipped with 57 Ku-band transponders to serve video, enterprise, mobility and government customers across East Asia and South Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines. SES-9 will replace the NSS-11 satellite at the 108.2°E orbital position, where it will be co-located with the SES-7 satellite.

March 9 - Arianespace S.A. successfully launched the EUTELSAT 65 West A satellite for Eutelsat Communications S.A. on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Manufactured by Space Systems Loral based on the SSL 1300 satellite platform, EUTELSAT 65 West A is equipped with 24 Ku-, 24 Ka- and 15 C-band transponders to provide DTH, corporate connectivity, video and broadband services to users in Latin America and Brazil from the 65°W orbital location.

THURAYA AND VIASAT M2M PARTNERSHIP

On March 15, Thuraya Telecommunications Company (Thuraya) announced a dedicated Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service and new terminal that, through a partnership with ViaSat, Inc. (ViaSat), will also operate on ViaSat's MSS network, thereby expanding Thuraya's coverage area to include North America for the first time.

REPORT FORECASTS NON-GEO REVENUE

A new report by Northern Sky Research projects that non-geostationary (NGSO) satellites will contribute $175b in revenue to launch services providers and satellite manufacturers over the course of the next 10 years, accounting for more than half of the $285b of total industry revenue expected over the same period.

SSL SELECTED TO BUILD EUTELSAT 7C

On March 22, Eutelsat Communications S.A. (Eutelsat) announced that it selected Space Systems Loral to...

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