Intelsat

Intelsat reveals plan to reorganize and trim debt
Intelsat SA announced a reorganization plan Feb. 12 to reduce the Luxembourg-based communications satellite fleet operator’s debt from nearly $15 billion to $7 billion.

Intelsat orders two satellites from Airbus
Intelsat has ordered two geostationary communications satellites from Airbus Defence and Space that will support the satellite operator’s aviation connectivity business.

Satellite operators boast of resilient businesses during pandemic
Commercial communications satellite operators say their businesses have been doing well this year despite, or even because of, the pandemic, but those companies may face longer-term threats that could lead to consolidation.

Intelsat rejects $1.8 billion SES claim for C-band clearing payments
Intelsat rejected a $1.8 billion claim filed by SES regarding the breakup of the C-Band Alliance, arguing instead that SES’s action cost Intelsat more than $1.6 billion in potential C-band clearing payments.

Intelsat taps Maxar for fifth C-band satellite, capping order spree
Intelsat has signed a satellite contract with Maxar Technologies, placing the final order in a one-time surge in manufacturing deals triggered by the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming C-band spectrum auction.

Intelsat buys Gogo commercial aviation business for $400 million
Commercial satellite operator Intelsat, still operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is purchasing a large chunk of inflight connectivity provider Gogo’s business for $400 million.

Hungary plans first GEO satellite • Intelsat plots M&A move • Glavkosmos, ISS Reshetnev team on satellite exports
Three Hungarian companies are forming a joint venture to launch the country’s first geostationary communications satellite in 2024.

Eutelsat scraps plan for replacement C-band satellite
Eutelsat Communications says it no longer intends to buy a reimbursable C-band replacement satellite for the U.S. market, having concluded it can make do with less spectrum by rationalizing capacity on its current geostationary fleet.

Arianespace lofts three spacecraft in first Ariane 5 launch since start of pandemic
Arianespace on Aug. 15 launched two communications satellites and a satellite servicer on an Ariane 5 rocket, completing the company’s first launch since the reopening of the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

Satellite servicing industry seeks interface standards
As another satellite life extension spacecraft is readied for launch, both developers and customers of such systems called for the creation of standard interfaces to support servicing of future spacecraft.

Intelsat to market half of capacity on Eutelsat’s Quantum satellite
Intelsat has agreed to help market half the capacity on an upcoming Eutelsat satellite designed mainly for government customers, the companies announced July 30.

SES files $1.8 billion claim against Intelsat over splitting C-Band Alliance
Fleet operator SES filed a claim July 14 against Intelsat seeking at least $1.8 billion in damages for Intelsat’s withdrawal from the C-Band Alliance.

Hughes, Inmarsat urge FCC restrictions on subsidized C-band satellites
Hughes Network Systems and Inmarsat are asking the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to amend its C-band auction plans to avoid giving Intelsat and SES an unfair competitive advantage in other spectrum bands and neighboring markets.

Intelsat orders four satellites from Maxar, two from Northrop Grumman, for C-band clearing
Fleet operator Intelsat on June 15 said it has ordered six new satellites — four from Maxar Technologies and two from Northrop Grumman — that it needs to continue telecommunications services in the United States with less spectrum by early December 2023.

Spaceflight Industries completes rideshare divestiture
Spaceflight Industries has completed the sale of its satellite rideshare business, Spaceflight Inc., to a pair of Japanese companies following a U.S. regulatory review and the modification of an Intelsat loan.