PARIS — Teleport operator Earthly Orbit Communications Ltd. is doubling the amount of capacity it leases aboard Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC) spacecraft with the lease of two Ku-band and three C-band transponders aboard RSCC’s Express AM8 satellite, RSCC announced June 21.
AM8 is scheduled for launch in 2013 and will operate at 14 degrees west longitude, replacing Moscow-based RSCC’s Express A4 satellite that was launched in June 2002. Express A4 was designed for an expected service life of seven years.
AM8, which is designed to last 15 years in orbit, will carry 24 C-band, 16 Ku-band and two L-band transponders.
Hampshire, England-based Earthly Orbit in late 2011 increased its RSCC-leased capacity to nearly four 36-megahertz transponders with a contract for use of the Express AM22 satellite at 53 degrees east. The company also leases bandwidth on RSCC’s Express AM44, at 11 degrees west, and aboard satellites operated by Telesat of Canada, Arabsat of Saudi Arabia and Rascom of Mauritius.
RSCC Director-General Yuri Prokhorov said in a June 21 statement that Earthly Orbit, which was created in 2006, is now one of RSCC’s biggest customers. The capacity-lease contract was announced in Singapore at the CommunicAsia conference.
