Australian satellite company NewSat has received $280m from the Export-Import-Bank of the US (Ex-Im Bank) for the launch of the first of two planned satellites, Jabiru-1, before the end of 2014.
The funding for the first Australian commercially-owned orbiting device programme will be followed by an expected $100m debt facility guarantee from French export credit agency Coface in July.
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NewSat has also revealed the requirement of an estimated $600m to fund the programme and further plans to raise an additional $200m in funding for the project.
The satellite firm is also planning to launch future planned satellites, Jabiru-2, Jabiru-3 and Jabiru-4. NewSat said that Jabiru-2 would not be a satellite but would be the company’s dedicated payload on the Measat-3b satellite.
Equipped with around 100 Ka-band transponders each, Jabiru-3 and 4 will be launched in 2016 and 2017 and sent into orbits at 89.5°
east and 54.0° east respectively.
With a design life of 15 years, the Jabiru-1 satellite will provide more than 7GHz of Ka-band capacity and high-powered coverage of regions over the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
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By GlobalDataThe services will be targeted to serve the government and enterprise markets, such as mining, oil, gas, media and carrier-grade telecommunications that are located across Middle Eastern and West Asian regions.
Constructed by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Jabiru-1 is based on the A2100 platform and will be launched by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana.
According to NewSat, Jabiru-1 will generate revenue of nearly $2bn over its 15 year operation and a 50% profit margin.
Image: Jabiru-1 satellite will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana in the fourth quarter of 2014. Photo: courtesy of Arianespace.
