Avanti Communications has awarded a contract to Orbital Sciences to build the HYLAS 4 broadband communications satellite.
The new satellite, which will be built at Orbital’s satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, is based on the company’s GEOStar-3 satellite platform and will be able to deliver about 28GHz of capacity in 66 fixed beams positioned over Africa and Europe.
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Avanti chief executive officer David Williams said: "We are pleased to have awarded a contract to Orbital as the manufacturer of our fourth communications satellite.
"Orbital did an excellent job providing us with the HYLAS 2 spacecraft, our first high-throughput all-Ka-band satellite, which has outperformed its technical specifications since its launch in 2012.
"Orbital’s GEOStar-3 satellite platform, with its enhanced payload capabilities, will help Avanti significantly expand its satellite fleet and services in Africa, the Middle East and Europe."
When launched on an Ariane rocket in early 2017, the HYLAS 4 satellite’s payload would offer Ka-band services across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with higher capacity compared with the earlier launched HYLAS 2 satellite.
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By GlobalDataThe GEOStar-3-based HYLAS 4 is the fourth satellite to be built by Orbital for Avanti. It will be developed with four steerable beams and could also serve markets in Latin America or Africa.
Orbital chairman and chief executive officer David Thompson said: "This high-throughput/lightweight satellite will set a new standard for affordability and flexibility in its class, while also providing the high quality and dependability of Orbital’s reliable GEOStar product line of over 45 geosynchronous spacecraft built or in production for many of the world’s leading operators."
Satellites based on GEOStar platform can accommodate all types of commercial communications payloads while requiring up to 8kW of payload power.
