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Space Business Review A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends.

April 2019

Contact | Dara A. Panahy, +1 202.835.7521, [email protected] | Bijan Ganji, +1 202.835.7543, [email protected]

Amazon Announces Plans for LEO Broadband System April Launch Services On April 4, .com, Inc. (Amazon) announced that it April 1 – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to develop and deploy a constellation of 3,236 low Earth successfully launched India’s EMISAT , along with orbit (LEO) that will provide broadband satellites for 28 international customers, on a PSLV-C45 services worldwide, joining a growing field of ambitious LEO , marking the inaugural mission for PSLV-QL, a broadband system operators, including OneWeb, Space new variant of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle featuring Exploration Technologies Corp., Facebook, Inc. and Telesat four strap-on boosters. EMISAT was manufactured by ISRO . The initiative, which Amazon calls Project Kuiper, was and will be used for electromagnetic spectrum measurement. revealed following the submission of filings to the International Among the other satellites launched on the mission were Spire Telecommunication Union by the US Federal Communications Global, Inc.’s 100th Lemur satellite, Astrocast S.A.’s second IoT Commission in March on behalf of , DC-based nanosatellite and 20 Dove satellites for , Inc. LLC. April 4 – Arianespace S.A. (Arianespace) successfully SpaceX Raises Additional $500m in New Funding Round launched four satellites for SES S.A. on a Soyuz launch On April 15, based on information provided in a regulatory vehicle, marking the fifth O3b mission performed by filing, it was reported that Space Exploration Technologies Arianespace. Manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and Corp. (SpaceX) raised $500m through a new funding round, equipped with Ka-band payloads for the provision of with shares priced at $204 each. The additional funding brings broadband connectivity services, the four new satellites join the SpaceX’s total amount of equity capital to $3b. In a related 16 O3b satellites already on-orbit to complete the 20-satellite development, on April 27, the U.S. Federal Communications first generation O3b constellation and to Commission (FCC) approved SpaceX’s request to operate enhance system connectivity, capabilities and performance. more than 1,500 of its planned Arianespace launched the other 16 O3b satellites in batches of constellation satellites in a 342 mile orbit (at a lower altitude four beginning in 2013. than originally expected). The FCC also approved SpaceX’s April 11 – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) plans to make a modest reduction in the total number of successfully launched the Arabsat 6A satellite for Arab Satellite satellites in the constellation – from 4,425 to 4,409 – and to Communications Organization (Arabsat) on a include the use of Ku-band gateway Earth stations for less launch vehicle. Representing the largest and most powerful than 75 of the lower-altitude Starlink satellites. SpaceX commercial satellite ever manufactured by Lockheed Martin announced that the first batch of operational satellites for the Corporation and the last of Arabsat’s sixth generation Starlink constellation is on-site at the Cape Canaveral Air satellites, Arabsat 6A is based on the LM 2100 satellite Force Station in preparation for launch in mid-May. The platform and is equipped to provide television, radio, Internet Starlink system will be used to provide broadband Internet and mobile communications services to users across the services worldwide. Middle East, Africa and . Following stage separation, Relativity Scores Landmark Launch Orders SpaceX successfully landed the Falcon Heavy’s two side boosters at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and its On April 5, Relativity Space, Inc. (Relativity), a Los Angeles- center core on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship. based start-up launch services provider, announced that it was Arabsat 6A will be operated from the 30.5°E orbital position. selected by Telesat Canada (Telesat) to provide launch services for Telesat’s low Earth orbit broadband Internet Intelsat 29e Satellite Suffers Total Loss constellation using the Terran 1 launch vehicle, the world’s first On April 19, Intelsat S.A. announced the total loss of the fully 3D-printed rocket. On April 23, Relativity announced that it Intelsat 29e satellite due to anomalies arising earlier in the was selected by Thai space and satellite company Mu Space month after a propellant leak caused damage to the satellite’s and Advanced Technology Co., Ltd. (mu Space) to launch one propulsion system. of mu Space’s low Earth orbit satellites on a Terran 1 in 2022. Astro Malaysia and Measat Sign Transponder Deal With the first aerospace platform to integrate machine learning, On April 18, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd announced that its software and robotics with metal 3D printing technology, subsidiary MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd Relativity seeks to optimize the launch vehicle manufacturing signed a deal with MEASAT Communications Systems Sdn process, enabling production of a launch-ready Terran 1 from Bhd for use of transponder capacity on the MEASAT-3d raw material in less than 60 days.

satellite, which is expected to be launched in 2022, for $360m.

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