Japanese operator B-Sat has picked Space Systems Loral to build its next broadcast satellite in a move away from its usual supplier Lockheed Martin.
BSAT-4a, the fourth satellite order that SSL has secured in Japan in the last two years, aims to replace…
Japanese operator B-Sat has picked Space Systems Loral to build its next broadcast satellite in a move away from its usual supplier Lockheed Martin.
BSAT-4a, the fourth satellite order that SSL has secured in Japan in the last two years, aims to replace the ageing BSAT-3a at 110E when it launches in late 2017.
That satellite, along with the other two in B-Sat’s (Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation) fleet – BSAT-3b and the BSAT-3c it shares with local player SKY Perfect JSAT – were built by Lockheed and launched by Arianespace.
Lofted on an Ariane 5 in August 2007, BSAT-3a has 12 Ku-band transponders and a 13-year design life.
SSL president John Celli said BSAT-4a will have 24 Ku-band transponders, expanding the availability of advanced services in Japan such as HD and 4K/8K ultra-high definition TV.
The satellite is being designed to provide services for 15 years or more, similar to the lifetimes of BSAT-3b launched in October 2010 and BSAT-3c in August 2011.
B-Sat ordered its first satellite in June 1994 from Hughes Space and Communications, now a part of Boeing, but before Lockheed it had tended to contract with Orbital Sciences.
The Tokyo-based operator, whose largest shareholder is Japan’s sole public broadcaster NHK with 49.9%, was unable to comment before the press deadline.
Lockheed has been looking to expand its commercial space business and, in October last year, opened new headquarters for these operations in Colorado.
SSL, which unlike its direct competitors has little government business, is also looking to ramp up its share of the market following its sale to Canadian space technology firm MDA in 2012.
It secured its first satellite order from SKY Perfect JSAT with JCSAT-14 in 2013, when previously Lockheed had been its preferred supplier.
The operator picked SSL again a year later to build JCSAT-15 and JCSAT-16.
