Airbus Defence and Space, the world’s second largest space company, has been selected by EchoStar Satellite Operating Corporation–a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corp. (NASDAQ: SATS), a leading global satellite services provider and developer of hybrid video delivery technologies, to build EchoStar 105, a Eurostar E3000 satellite operating two payloads in Ku and C bands.
“We are proud that an operator as renowned as EchoStar has chosen Airbus Defence and Space to build the EchoStar 105 satellite” said François Auque, Head of Space Systems. “I am extremely pleased to have won this commercial contract in the American market which is highly competitive. Owing to this latest success Airbus Defence and Space is the only satellite manufacturer supplying the world’s seven leading satellite operators.”
The new satellite, providing EchoStar with 24 x 36 MHz Ku-band transponders, will be positioned at the 105 degrees West orbital position, offering comprehensive coverage of the Americas, including Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. EchoStar has been providing satellite communications services to customers from this orbital position since 2006.
Under an agreement between EchoStar and satellite operator SES, EchoStar 105 will be equipped with a payload of 24 C-band transponders, known as SES-11 and operated by SES. The launch of EchoStar 105/SES-11–which will have a separated mass of approximately 5,400 kg and an end of life electrical budget for the payloads of approximately 12 kW– is scheduled for the end of 2016.
“The market for 50-state transponder capacity in North America has demonstrated significant growth for the EchoStar Satellite Services business unit over the past five years– the acquisition of EchoStar 105 renews our commitment to the fixed satellite services market in North America,” EchoStar Satellite Services President Anders Johnson said. “The replacement of AMC-15, with the increased capability offered by EchoStar 105, will allow us to meet the evolving demand from our customers for enterprise, broadcast, and government services applications. We are pleased to work with Airbus Defence and Space to provide our customers with new, high power satellite capacity at this established orbital slot.”
This will be the 48th satellite in the Eurostar E3000 series, which made its debut in orbit in March 2004 and has since demonstrated its exceptional reliability in operational service.
About Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and among the top ten global defence enterprises. It employs some 40,000 employees generating revenues of approximately €14 billion per year.
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