Mexican satellite operator Satmex has made another bet on electric propulsion by taking up its option to order a second bird from US manufacturer Boeing.
The new Ku-band Satmex 9 satellite is due to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Q4 2015,…
Mexican satellite operator Satmex has made another bet on electric propulsion by taking up its option to order a second bird from US manufacturer Boeing.
The new Ku-band Satmex 9 satellite is due to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Q4 2015, following the placing of its first all-electric spacecraft Satmex 7 earlier that year.
Both birds are part of an unconventional joint procurement deal that was agreed last year with Asian satellite operator ABS, which has already given Boeing the go-ahead for two all-electrics: ABS-3A and ABS 2A.
As anchor customers of the new Boeing 702SP product line, the option for the fourth satellite was open to either Satmex or ABS. The companies also have a right to acquire four additional satellites from Boeing under options that expire between 13 April 2014 and 13 October 2015.
The all-electric birds are cheaper than their regular counterparts as their reduced weight – from not having to rely on heavy chemical propulsion – means they can be launched as a dual fairing on a Falcon 9. Just as Satmex 7 and ABS-3A are to be launched together in Q1 2015, Satmex 9 and ABS 2A are also expected to share a Falcon 9 later that year.
Satmex 9 will hold 48 Ku-band transponders and is set to join the Satmex 8 that was launched by Russia’s ILS earlier this year to 116.8W, where it will provide DTH and telecoms services across Latin America.
“[Customers] will be able to utilise Satmex 9 to meet their transmission needs on a more cost effective basis by using the same terrestrial infrastructure they are currently using on Satmex 8,” said Satmex CEO Patricio Northland.
Satmex 9’s cost will likely be close to the US$165m it has estimated for Satmex 7. The Mexican satellite operator has already paid a US$3.8m initial payment to Boeing for the early design of Satmex-9.
The company has also applied to US export credit agency Ex-Im Bank for a low interest rate loan to help finance the construction and launch of Satmex 7 – something ABS successfully achieved in November 2012.
However, in its most recent 6-K filing on 15 May 2013, the company said it anticipated financing the bird with existing cash and new debt, without mentioning Ex-Im.
Satmex CFO Juan Garcia was quoted during a conference call in June saying that, although it was in talks for ECA support, Satmex 7 was not reliant on a loan from Ex-Im.
The company reported US32.72m in revenues for the three months ended 31 March 2013, compared with US$31.84m for the corresponding period the year before. It had US$360m in debt on its books and, as of 31 December 2012, had US$82.5m in positive cash flow.
