Arsat, the Argentinean state-owned satellite operator, has secured a US$50m loan from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to help fund the development and launch of three geostationary satellites.
The financing was announced by CAF as part of a…
Arsat, the Argentinean state-owned satellite operator, has secured a US$50m loan from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) to help fund the development and launch of three geostationary satellites.
The financing was announced by CAF as part of a wider US$1bn funding for development projects in Argentina. Alongside the Arsat allocation, CAF is to provide a US$70m loan to the Argentinean space agency CONAE (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales) to further develop the country’s scientific and technical capacity in space.
CAF said that the Arsat loan is will help enable the country to build and launch its own satellites as well as preserve its orbital positions.
Arsat’s debut satellite, Arsat-1, is due to be launched in the second half of 2013 by Arianespace. It was originally planned to have been operational by the end of 2012 but was delayed. Local reports recently quoted Julio de Vido, Argentina’s Minister of Planning and Public Investment, as saying that the satellite would likely be launched in October.
The spacecraft is being built by the Argentine company INVAP, with Astrium and Thales Alenia Space as leading equipment suppliers. It is the central part of the SSGAT (Sistema Satelital Geoestacionario Argentino de Telecomunicaciones) programme which intends for the country to manufacture its first geostationary telecommunications satellite.
Arsat-1 is expected to cost approximately US$270m, with the state contributing US$54m and the remainder secured via loans from CAF and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Arsat was formed by the Argentine government in 2006, with the state transferring the assets of private company Nahuelsat, which operated its NAHUEL-1 satellite at the 72W orbital position. That satellite was retired in 2010 and Arsat-1 is due to replace it at that slot.
The company intends to develop and launch two further satellites by 2016. The nascent operator signed a contract with Arianespace in March 2011 to launch Arsat-2 to 81W by the second half of 2013. Given the delays to Arsat-1 this timeframe is highly unlikely.
