A round-up of news briefs that featured in Issue 198 of SatelliteFinance.
A round-up of news briefs that featured in Issue 198 of SatelliteFinance.
SATELLITE OPERATORS
Inmarsat has opened up a larger office in Singapore as it looks to ramp up sales in Asia Pacific. The new facility, Inmarsat’s largest in the region, comes soon after the launch of global commercial services on its next generation Global Xpress constellation. Singapore has been the British MSS operator’s Asia Pacific base since 2008.
It cited the country’s “outstanding infrastructure”, “its innovative culture” and “deep pool of talent” as why it had chosen to locate its operations there. Inmarsat has also signed a deal with SingTel, the local state-controlled telco, to provide it with L-TAC services, used for push-to-talk radio networks, which SingTel will sell to government customers in the region.
Egypt’s NileSat is reportedly looking to obtain new licences from the ITU to extend its operations into more African markets.
The Cairo-based FSS operator will increase its investment budget by US$50m to capitalise on digital migration, according to a report in Kenyan publication The East African.
The countries it is reported to be targeting are Angola, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. NileSat was unable to comment before the press deadline.
Officials from NigComSat reportedly met with the presidents of China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation to discuss a possible new satellite for the Nigerian operator.
The talks came during a visit to China for the launch of Belintersat-1, successfully placed by CGWIC, which NigComSat is providing in-orbit testing and spectrum management services to. NigComSat officials also discussed forming partnerships with the Chinese companies in a number of areas, including training up Nigerian engineers.
SPACE SERVICES
British DTH and broadband provider Sky has continued its strategy of conducting R&D through M&A by taking an equity stake in DataXu.
The US$10m investment enables Sky to benefit from DataXu’s expertise in programmatic marketing analytics, data management and media activation software.
James West, deputy MD of Sky’s media division, said: “Combining Sky’s knowledge, experience and innovation in advertising with DataXu’s programmatic marketing expertise will provide exciting opportunities for both businesses, and most importantly, for Sky’s advertising partners.”
Inflight navigation specialist Star Navigation is looking to raise C$1m (US$714k) to spend on R&D and corporate overheads.
The Toronto, Ontario-based company will issue up to 33.3 million units at a price of C$0.03. Each unit comprises one common share and one common share purchase warrant, entitling the holder to buy one common share at C$0.07 for the next three years once the placement closes.
Star, which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, raised C$1m last year through two similarly structured placements.
The owner of pay-TV provider Canal+ may look to acquire channels from its Qatari-owned rival BeIn Sports France.
Vivendi is reported to be discussing various options, ranging from an exclusive distribution tie-up to a full-blown acquisition of BeIn. BeIn has a number of exclusive sports rights in France, including for UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 soccer.
Cable group Altice outbid Canal+ for rights to the English Premier League last year, blocking the Vivendi subsidiary from renewing its agreement. Its DTH channels are short of soccer content, seen as crucial for retaining pay-TV subscribers.
One report cited a valuation from Natixis analysts of €500m (US$553m) for BeIn, although any takeover attempt from Canal+ is complicated by antitrust issues due to its already strong position in broadcasting other sports.
SPACE SEGMENT
Asteroid mining startup Deep Space Industries (DSI) and the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies are declaring a historic first.
The two groups claim to have got one nanosatellite to autonomously programme another, ordering it to perform an orbit change using its on-board propulsion system via an S-band radio link.
DSI chief engineer Grant Bonin said: “The experiment was an important risk reduction exercise for DSI, which intends to use small spacecraft for initial asteroid prospecting missions in the next five years.
“The ability to relay commands from spacecraft to spacecraft, and perform in-space manoeuvres autonomously, without operator intervention, is a critical capability that has major implications for mission-level redundancy — not just for asteroid missions, but also for low-cost Earth orbit constellations.”
Bonin added that the technology could enable the operator to be taken out of the loop entirely during a mission, potentially leading to significant cost savings.
Russian manufacturer ISS Reshetnev has begun work on a new satellite platform that it plans to make available to both commercial and government customers.
It aims to develop the platform for LEO satellites weighing up to 500kg, with a payload powered by 765 watts.
“The unpressurised configuration of the platform will also enable satellites built around it to accommodate larger payloads and feature increased technical characteristics,” Reshetnev said in a statement.
The new spacecraft will have a lifespan of up to 10 years and orbit at altitudes of anywhere between 700km to 8000km. The announcement comes as Russia’s attitude to space is becoming increasingly insular following trade sanctions in the wake of its annexation of Crimea.
It recently reformed its space industry, consolidating it under state-controlled Roscosmos. Last year Roscosmos was merged with United Rocket and Space Corporation, becoming a state corporation with an expanded remit as part of Russia’s plan to streamline its space operations.
The first part of the Airbus DS-made SpaceDataHighway network, EDRS-A, was placed into orbit by a Proton rocket at the end of January, operating through a hosted payload on Eutelsat 9B.
Transmitting data between spacecraft through laser communications, the network will provide in-space broadband with speeds at up to 1.8 Gbps. The project is a public private partnership between the European Space Agency and Airbus DS, which is co-financing the system and manufacturing the parts. Airbus DS will eventually operate the network, marketing it to commercial customers.
Evert Dudok, head of Airbus DS’s communications, intelligence and security unit, commented: “SpaceDataHighway is no longer science fiction. It will revolutionise satellite and drone communications, and help to keep the European space industry at the forefront of technology and innovative services.”
INSURANCE
UK-based managing general agent Sciemus is developing a satellite-specific cyber insurance product, designed to protect against the growing risk of network hacks.
Neil Stevens, who was appointed head of space risks in October, said the product is a first for satellite operators, intended to cover business interruption and property damage caused by a cyber-attack. The group plans to launch six other products in the coming months, as it seeks to broaden its portfolio in the face of declining rates in the wider launch and in-orbit space insurance market.
“There has been a steady stream of interest from satellite manufacturers, launch service providers and operators looking to protect their financial exposures,” Stevens said.
“With such a high degree of demand, we see this as the way forward in the current market. It is a clear way to supplement underwriting income from the conventional space account and to keep the Sciemus analytical modelling capabilities at the forefront of the London market.”
Stevens, a UK-trained lawyer and former broker, said Sciemus remains upbeat despite these pressures in the industry. The group claims to have a significantly low loss ratio of 3% which stretches back to the 2007 year of account. It has also so far missed all of the losses declared in 2014 and 2015, although those years are yet to close.
Indonesian bank BRI is understood to have picked Marsh as broker for its first satellite, the BRIsat bird being built by Space Systems Loral for an Arianespace launch this May.
BRI is the first bank in the world to order a communications satellite, and will use it to provide secure banking to more than 9,800 branches across the Indonesian archipelago.
The insurance contract win is the third in a row for Marsh, which recently secured tenders for Indonesia’s Telkom and Thailand’s Thaicom.
SatelliteFinance understands that at least one more insurance tender is currently doing the rounds, a proposal for an imaging spacecraft for Taiwan’s National Space Organization (NSPO).
