NileSat 301 launch date slips
April 19, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Egypt’s latest communications satellite, NileSat 301, has slipped a month from its expected launch date towards the end of April to later in May.
The craft has been built by Thales Alenia Space and reportedly has been placed in its shipping container ready for delivery from Cannes Mandelieu by boat to Cape Canaveral.
Launch is contracted to SpaceX and will take place from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral.
This modest extra delay is the latest in the expected delivery of the craft which was originally expected to be launched in January 2022. The satellite was ordered with Thales in December 2019 with a development date of 25 months.
Egypt’s first satellite (NileSat 101) was launched in April 1998 and decommissioned in 2013. NileSat 102 followed in 2000 and was retired in June 2018 and moved to a graveyard orbit. Nilesat 201 was launched in August 2010 and with a mission duration of 15 years. All operated from the 7 degrees West orbital position.