PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Telenor Satellite Broadcasting of Norway announced June 20 it had contracted with Space Systems/Loral to build the Thor 7 Ku-/Ka-band satellite to focus on Central and Eastern Europe and high-speed maritime communications.
Thor 7 will be ready for launch in 28 months, and a launch-services provider will be selected by the end of this month, Oslo-based Telenor said. The launch will occur so that Thor 7 will complete its in-orbit testing and be ready for commercial service at Telenor’s 1 degree west orbital slot in early 2014.
Thor 7 will use Palo Alto, Calif.-based Loral’s 1300 satellite frame. It will have 11 Ku-band transponders dedicated to expanding Telenor’s business in Central and Eastern Europe. Additional Ku-band capacity will permit Telenor to offer backup to its existing spacecraft at the 1-degree-west slot, where it distributes television broadcasts to a mainly Nordic audience.
In what will be a new business for Telenor, Thor 7 will include a Ka-band payload with several spot beams training high-speed data communications services to maritime customers.
Telenor said the spot beams would cover the Nordic, Red, Baltic and Mediterranean seas, and the Persian Gulf.
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