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Yahsat to reschedule second satellite launch

ABU DHABI - Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat) has today announced that the scheduled February launch of its Y1B satellite, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, has been postponed until April 2012, due to reasons beyond its control.

The delay to the Y1B has been the direct result of two failed launch attempts of the SES- 4 satellite, which was originally due to launch in December 2011. The rescheduled January launch date of the SES satellite was again cancelled due to technical reasons with the satellite’s ILS Proton launch vehicle.

Tareq Abdul Raheem Al Hosani, Yahsat Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said: “The delay is unfortunate but it is well-known that launch delays, and the “domino effect” they often have on the subsequent launches, is a risk that the satellite industry must face. However, we are actively working with our partners to minimize the impact of the delay by using this time to optimize our planned post launch testing for the Y1B satellite and associated services. We are also working with our partners to minimize the delay in our commercial roll-out and are looking at ways we can begin these as early as possible,” he concluded.

Yahsat’s Y1B satellite, which weighs about six tonnes, will be launched into space by a Proton-M launch vehicle with a Briz-M booster. One of the core functions of Y1B will be to provide broadband satellite communication, Internet and corporate data transfer services across the Middle East, Africa, and South West Asia. These Broadband services will use an extensive ground system provided by HNS and ViaSat, the status of which is “ready to go”, and waiting for the Y1B launch.

Upon its launch, the Y1B satellite will form the second stage of Yahsat’s development of a fully integrated satellite communications system, which will include the Y1A satellite, which was successfully launched in April 2011 from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, and supporting ground segments.

The integrated FSS system, which has been designed by an industrial team of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, will provide satellite communications services for both governmental and commercial customers across the Middle-East, Africa, Europe and South West Asia. It will offer a wide portfolio of voice, data, video and internet connectivity solutions designed to accommodate the demand for emerging applications in the satellite industry including satellite broadband, HDTV and various other satellite services.

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