Japan’s SKY Perfect JSAT has ordered a satellite from US-based Lockheed Martin, taking the number of new spacecraft it has on order to five.
Japan’s SKY Perfect JSAT has ordered a satellite from US-based Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), taking the number of new spacecraft it has on order to five.
Based on Lockheed’s A2100 satellite bus, JCSAT-17 will cover East Asia where it will offer capacity in the S-, C- and Ku-bands. A flexible processor will enable JSAT to redirect capacity to concentrate on disaster relief efforts or other high-volume events.
Maryland-headquartered Lockheed will build the bird at its Denver production facility, where its space manufacturing operations were consolidated in 2013, and expects to deliver the satellite to JSAT in 2019. It is the eighth satellite JSAT has ordered from Lockheed Martin, the first being NSAT-110 which launched in 2000.
JSAT’s latest order is its first from Lockheed since it awarded it the contract for JCSAT-110R in 2008, lofted by Arianespace in 2011.
JSAT has said it hopes to launch JCSAT-17 in the second half of 2019, with the satellite expected to operate for more than 15 years.
The Tokyo-based FSS operator did not disclose how it would fund the new craft although, in an interview last year with SatelliteFinance, its CEO Shinji Takada said cash on hand and operating cash flow had been used to fund its recent satellite orders.
The Japanese group has historically not relied on export credit agency-backed financing, a relief for Lockheed with the US Ex-Im bank still unable to sign-off US$10m-plus transactions.
Last summer JSAT launched a three-tranche JPY20bn (US$162m) bond offering to fund capital investments, but the financing was not linked to the four satellites JSAT has on order.
Rival US satellite maker SSL is building three of those: JCSAT-14, -15 and -16, all of which are planned to be launched this year – two by SpaceX and one by Arianespace.
The Superbird-8 satellite, to replace Superbird-B2 at 162E, is being built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric.
Carl Marchetto (pictured), VP and general manager of commercial space at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said another sale of the recently redesigned flagship A2100 platform “adds yet another satellite to our healthy backlog”.
Click here to read an exclusive interview with Marchetto outlining the redesigned A2100 to SatelliteFinance in November.
