Eutelsat announced the loss of its W3B satellite following a leak to the spacecraft’s propulsion subsystem subsequent to its launch by an Ariane 5 rocket on 28 October.
Eultesat, Arianespace and the satellite’s manufacturer Thales Alenia Space are…
Eutelsat announced the loss of its W3B satellite following a leak to the spacecraft’s propulsion subsystem subsequent to its launch by an Ariane 5 rocket on 28 October.
Eultesat, Arianespace and the satellite’s manufacturer Thales Alenia Space are investigating the exact cause of the problem but the satellite operator considers the mission to be a failure and will seek the full insurance settlement. Eutelsat also stated that the non-availability of W3B does not change its existing financial guidance.
SatelliteFinance understands that the satellite was insured for around ?235m, although the final sum payable depends on what precisely is identified as the cause of the anomaly as the insurance had three different coverage policies.
The failure will not, however, have an impact on the insurance premium Eutelsat pays for its future launches as the day prior to the launch, the satellite operator’s broker Willis placed a five satellite launch plus one package deal.
W3B was due to replace the Eurobird-16, W2M and SESAT- 1 satellites at the 16E hotspot, with those birds then being redeployed to other orbital locations. However, following the loss, those three satellites will now remain in full service until the arrival of W3C, which is due to be launched on a Chinese Long March 3B rocket in July 2011.
W3B was also originally due to be launched by a Chinese Long March rocket but was subsequently shifted to Arianespace.
Eutelsat stated that it will immediately initiate a new satellite programme, called W3D, to replace W3B. While both W3B and W3C are based on Thales’ Spacebus 4000 platform, Eutelsat has not yet decided who will construct W3D. The new bird is slated to be launched in the first quarter of 2013 and will be located at 7E, the orbital spot that W3B would have moved to once W3C had been launched and positioned at 16E.
W3C is part of the five satellite insurance package completed on 27 October, while W3D is covered under an earlier package deal that also covered Ka-Sat.
The 16E spot, whose principle markets are Central Europe and the Indian Ocean islands, has proved somewhat unlucky for Eutelsat. The W2 satellite suffered an in-orbit failure in January 2010, almost a year after its replacement W2M suffered a major anomaly to its power subsystem, leaving it with 8 Ku transponders and an expected end of operational life of late 2021. To maintain services at 16E, Eutelsat moved Eurobird 16 in April 2009 and SESAT-1 at the end of January 2010, following the launch of W7 to 36E. After extensive testing and commercial operations at 3E, W2M was then also redeployed at 16E.
Market remains resilient
In spite of the W3B failure representing one of the largest single satellite losses in the history of the space insurance market to date, launch plus one prices have not increased.
As one SatelliteFinance source commented: “Initial indications are that the failure hasn’t had a significant impact on the market. Pricing is driven by capacity and until we see a fall in this, rates are likely to stay low.” The average launch plus one rates at present are down to around 9% to 9.5% but while the insurance community continues to make a profit, the downward pressure on these rates will remain. The global income for space insurers is estimated at approximately US$650m while claims, including W3M, are around US$390m meaning a substantial profit.
However, one additional total failure of a satellite and the year will become a loss so the market remains cautious for the remainder of the year.
