Arianespace Wins New JSAT Deal

[09-20-07 – Satellite Today]  Arianespace received a contract from JSAT to launch the JCSAT-12 satellite in summer 2009, Arianespace announced Sept. 19.

JCSAT-12, being manufactured by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, will provide service to Japan, the Asia-Pacific region and Hawaii and serve as a backup for other JSAT satellites.

JCSAT-12 replaces JCSAT-11, which was lost Sept. 6 when its Proton rocket suffered a second stage failure shortly after lift-off.

Separately, International Launch Services (ILS), which provide the Proton launch for JSAT, has established an failure oversight review board to study the results of the Russian state commission’s investigation into the failure.

The board, which will be led by Jim Bonner, ILS vice president of programs and operations and chief technical officer, and Kevin Sloan, ILS launch operations director, will not investigate the incident, relying instead on the results of the Russian commission, which is made up of 18 space, military and other industry and government professionals.

The ILS board will be made up of three industry specialists, representatives from the affected mission and the return-to-flight mission and an insurance industry representative.