Arianespace has announced that it will launch BSAT-4b as part of a turnkey contract between Japanese satellite operator B-SAT and Maxar’s California-based satellite manufacturer SSL. Since the creation of B-SAT, Arianespace has launched all nine of its satellites. BSAT-4b not only marks the 10th launch but also the 32nd commercial geostationary satellite launch contract awarded to Arianespace in Japan.

Built by SSL using a 1300 platform, BSAT-4b will feature 24 Ku-band transponders. It will weigh about 3,520 kg at launch and is designed to have a nominal service life of at least 15 years. It will be positioned in geostationary orbit at 110 degrees East. BSAT-4b will serve as a back-up of BSAT-4a, which Arianespace launched in September 2017. It will have the same Japanese archipelago footprint as BSAT-4a, providing Direct-to-Home television to ensure 4K/8K ultra-high definition video distribution for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

NASA and Blue Origin have agreed to conduct second stage hot fire testing for the New Glenn rocket at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to advance work on the Artemis program.

NASA announced Friday the agreement is an annex to a reimbursable Space Act Agreement signed earlier this month.

Blue Origin will conduct hot fire testing at the B-2 test stand, targeted to begin this fall. The stand has a long history of supporting Moon missions and was built to test the Saturn V rocket stages used during the Apollo Program.

NASA will provide the engineers, equipment, and building services needed to design, build, and install parts that will prepare the B-2 for second stage testing of the New Glenn rocket. NASA also will share agency expertise from propulsion testing conducted at the test stand.

“We are proud to partner with NASA and build on our shared commitment to returning America to the Moon and our broader mission to build a road to space for the benefit of Earth,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp. “Stennis helped take Americans to the Moon, and through this partnership, it will help take us back.”