spacetoday.net: Eutelsat, ViaSat order Ka-band satellites

Posted: Tue, Jan 8, 2008, 6:50 AM ET (1150 GMT)
European satellite operator Eutelsat and ViaSat, a US company best known as the maker of satellite ground equipment, each announced the order of Ka-band broadband satellites Monday as part of a cooperative venture. Eutelsat ordered from EADS Astrium the KA-SAT spacecraft, a Eurostar E3000 satellite that will weigh 5.8 tons at launch in 2010 and will operate at 13 degrees east in GEO. ViaSat has ordered its first satellite, ViaSat-1, from Space Systems/Loral; that 1300-series spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 2011, will operate from 115 degrees west in a slot owned by Telesat Canada, which is purchasing the Canadian coverage of the satellite. Eutelsat and ViaSat are cooperating in the development of these systems, using ViaSat networking hardware and a common business model to sell broadband satellite capacity on a wholesale basis to companies that want to provide TV and Internet services.