Page 92 - SAMENA Trends - February 2020

SATELLITE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Lockheed to Obtain Vector Satellite Assets

President of Iran’s University of Science comes after an earlier version of the said. Iran is one of the 9 superior states
and Technology Jabbar Ali Zakeri said satellite, dubbed Payam, was successfully in building satellites beside the US,
that the IUST has delivered the home- launched into space in January, but the Russia, Europe and Canada. Barari had
made Zafar satellite to the country’s Space technical problems that occurred during announced in December 2018 that Iran
Agency (ISA) to be launched into the orbit the final stage of the launch prevented the was planning to manufacture a home-
soon. “Zafar satellite has been delivered spacecraft from reaching orbit. Following made telecommunication satellite in the
to the ISA and the launch procedures are the incident, Minister of Communications next few years. “Building an indigenized
underway at the organization,” Zakeri told and Information Technology Mohammad telecommunication satellite within the
FNA. He added that the satellite will be Javad Azari Jahromi said that Iran failed next 7 years is atop the ISA’s plans,”
the first spacecraft which will be launched to orbit Payam satellite successfully. The Barari said. He added that the preliminary
by Iran into the orbit in the next three rocket carrying the Payam satellite failed steps had already been taken by Iran
months. Zakeri had told FNA in May that to reach the “necessary speed” in the third to manufacture a telecommunication
Zafar is designed by experts at research stage of its launch, Azari Jahromi said at satellite by building Nahid 1 and Nahid 2
center of the university and it weighs the time. According to him, the rocket had satellites. Barari underlined that Iran also
90 kilograms, is equipped with color successfully passed its first and second planned to build a sensing satellite with a
cameras and can survey the oil reserves, stages before developing problems in the 1-meter precision power in 7 years. Barari
mines, jungles, and natural disasters. Iran third. He did not elaborate on what caused had also announced in October 2018 that
launched its first satellite, called Omid the rocket failure. President of Amir Kabir his country was standing among the 9 top
(Hope), in February 2009. The Rasad University of Technology Seyed Ahmad world countries in developing satellites.
(Observation) satellite was also sent into Motamedi underlined in February Iran’s He also added that Iran ranked first in the
orbit in June 2011. In February 2012, Iran capability to orbit high-quality satellites region in the aerospace sector, explaining
successfully put its third domestically in an altitude 500km above the Earth. “We that Iran ranked 14th in the world in 2016
manufactured satellite, named the Navid are able to send satellites to the 500-km but it jumped three grades and ranked 11th
(Promise), into orbit. On February 8, altitude and we can design satellites based in the world in 2017.
2012, Iran received the first image sent on international standards,” Motamedi
by the Navid satellite. Earlier, Head of
the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Morteza
Barari said that experts and scientists at
the Tehran-based Amirkabir University
of Technology will start the development
project of a telecommunication satellite
dubbed ‘Payam 2’ by late May. Barari
said that three development plans for
building Payam 2 are being reviewed and
the production operation will commence
within three weeks, once the best plan
is selected. Building the device will take
up to four years, he added. The move

Investor Urges Intelsat to Reject FCC Spectrum Offer

A major investor in satellite service provid- $4.85 billion if it successfully meets the billions of dollars of expenditures” in 2020
er Intelsat pressed the company to reject transition requirements. But in a letter to without the prospect of payment until May
a proposal from US regulators offering Intelsat’s board, Appaloosa Management 2021. He said taking on that risk “could
billions of dollars in exchange for access President David Tepper derided the sum easily trigger an insolvency before reloca-
to its spectrum, arguing the terms are un- as “an affront when compared to the val- tion can be accomplished”. He pressed In-
fair and expose it to financial risk. A plan ues achieved in auctions of comparable telsat to negotiate “fair commercial terms”
recently unveiled by FCC Chairman Ajit spectrum across the globe over the past with the FCC. If it cannot do so, he said
Pai would offer satellite service providers decade”. The company owns a 7.4 per cent the company “has no choice but to resort
up to $9.7 billion in incentives to swift- stake in Intelsat. Tepper also took issue to bankruptcy and litigation” to protect its
ly free up C-Band spectrum (3.7GHz to with the proposed process for distributing spectrum assets. The FCC is scheduled to
4.2GHz) so the airwaves can be used for incentive and reimbursement funds, argu- vote on the plan at its next monthly meet-
5G. Intelsat stands to receive as much as ing it requires satellite companies to “front ing, scheduled for 28 February.

92 FEBRUARY 2020