EADS Atrium signed a contract with Arabsat to build the BADR-6 communications satellite, the companies announced June 6.

Under the in-orbit delivery contract, Astrium will supply its Eurostar platform and serve as prime contractor and be responsible for launch and early operations. Alcatel Alenia Space will develop the communications payload.

The satellite, scheduled to enter service in 2008, will be placed at 26 degrees East and carry 20 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders to provide service over the Middle East and North Africa. Astrium already has developed satellite control centers in Dirab, Saudi Arabia, and Tunis, Tunisia, to control the Arabsat satellite fleet.

In February, Arabsat 4A, also manufactured by EADS Astrium, was lost when an upper stage failure on a Russian Proton rocket left the satellite short of its intended orbit.