Intelsat confirms Airbus order
January 11, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Airbus has confirmed that it has received an order from Intelsat for two satellites. Intelsat had requested permission from its Bankruptcy Court to go ahead with the contract.
Intelsat has ordered the paid of Airbus ‘OneSat’ craft which are highly flexible satellites with next-generation software giving Intelsat a variety of technical options including frequency adaptability.
Airbus says it will deliver an end-to-end fully integrated solution, including design and manufacture of the satellites. The highly capable ground segment software components, when fully integrated into Intelsat’s next-generation software defined network ecosystem and advanced digital suite will allow dynamic operation of end-to-end satellite resources. The two next generation SD satellites will be delivered in 2023.
Intelsat will use the craft for its recently acquired Gogo in-flight aviation service. Intelsat paid $500 million for Gogo’s commercial aviation business which provides broadband direct to passenger seats.
Intelsat Chief Executive Officer Stephen Spengler said: “Intelsat’s investment in Airbus software defined satellites marks an important first step in evolving the world’s largest, most resilient, integrated space and ground network. Intelsat’s next-generation software-defined network will be the catalyst for our growth, enabling future Gogo Commercial Aviation inflight broadband services, as well as other managed services across Intelsat’s customer segments.”