(9 May 2009 4:10 pm)

MUMBAI: Asian satellite services provider Asiasat has selected Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications, to provide a new communications satellite Asiasat 5C.

Asiasat 5C will serve as a backup for AsiaSat 5, which is currently being built by Space Systems/Loral and is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2009. Asiasat 5 will replace Asiasat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East.

Asiasat CEO Peter Jackson says, “Our focus on high quality and reliable service is something that we share with Space Systems/Loral. The Asiasat 5C procurement program ensures the continuity of service to our AsiaSat 2 customers in the event of a launch failure of Asiasat 5.”

The spacecraft is based on Space Systems/Loral’s 1300 satellite bus, with performance similar but not limited to that of AsiaSat 5 designed for the provision of fixed satellite services for television broadcast, telephone networks, and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across the Asia Pacific.

Space Systems/Loral president, COO John Celli says, “We are very pleased to be selected once again to provide AsiaSat with a satellite that will reinforce its existing services to crucial communications networks in Asia”.

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