[Satellite TODAY 04-20-11] The New York American Arbitration Association ruled in favor of U.K. satellite operator Avanti Communications in its legal action against SpaceX to recover the deposit it paid SpaceX to launch the Hylas-1 satellite, Avanti announced April 18.
    The verdict requires SpaceX to pay Avanti $7.56 million with interest on the deposit. SpaceX was contracted to launch Avanti’s Hylas-1 satellite toward the end of 2009 in a contract that stipulated SpaceX complete Falcon 9 validation tests by the time of launch. When SpaceX notified Avanti that it would not be able to fulfill the stipulation, Avanti shifted the contract award to Arianespace, which launched the satellite in November.
    Avanti requested a refund on its deposit to SpaceX, but the launch provider held the deposit, which drove Avanti to file for arbitration in January. SpaceX would not comment on the legal action due to the confidential terms of its original contract with the operator, however, in a statement issued in January, SpaceX said it disagreed with Avanti’s claims and that it was acting in compliance with the contract.