Mitsubishi Electric to Manufacture Es’hailSat’s Next Satellite

Artist’s rendering of Es’hail 2 satellite. Photo: Mitsubishi Electric

[Via Satellite 09-09-2014] Qatar based Es’hailSat has awarded a contract to Mitsubishi Electric for the manufacture of its second satellite: Es’hail 2. The project, which began in July 2014, is expected to take 27 months and has an anticipated launch in late 2016.

Additionally, Mitsubishi Electric is training Qatari engineers throughout the satellite’s production. Through an in-house program, Qatari engineers will have an opportunity to learn how to build and test satellites in order to develop a domestic satellite manufacturing capability.

Es’hail 2 is being constructed on Mitsubishi Electric’s DS2000 bus with Ku- and Ka-band transponders for Direct-To-Home (DTH) TV services across the Middle East and Africa. Once in orbit at 26 degrees east, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) plans to link Brazil and India though a single hop in real-time. The AMSAT community will use the satellite to demonstrate their Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard.