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Alcatel Wins
Contract to Build Apstar 5B
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More
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APT Satellite
Holdings Ltd has entered into an agreement to buy a satellite and
related services from Alcatel Space Industries in a contract worth
US$118  million.
Alcatel Space will provide APT Satellite with the design,
construction, testing and delivery of Apstar 5B. The price
includes servicing costs of the launch campaign, on site support,
training as well as costs of satellite simulator, satellite
control center and baseband equipment. The delivery and launch of
Apstar 5B is scheduled for July 2004
Apstar 5B will
serve as a backup for Apstar 5, which is under construction by
Space Systems / Loral. Loral has not yet received permission from
the U.S. government to export the spacecraft to  China
for launch aboard a Long March rocket. In November, the U.S. State
Department did grant Loral a Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA),
permitting Loral to have technical discussions with APT Satellite
about the spacecraft, though the information Loral can share is
strictly limited and there is no assurance that the TAA will
ultimately be followed with an Export license. Loral has missed
two contractual deadlines for obtaining the export license, one on
June 30, the other on September 30. APT Satellite granted an
extension on the first deadline, and the two companies are in
discussions to extend the deadline to the end of the year.
Apstar 5 is
intended to replace Apstar 1, which will reach its design life in
2004. If Apstar 5 is successfully delivered by Loral, Apstar 5B
will be reconfigured and launched as Apstar 6. Apstar 6 would
replace Apstar 1A, who’s design life will be reached in 2006.
APT Satellite has
not given up on Loral obtaining an export license, but the
procurement of Apstar 5B is part of a prudent backup plan, which
also includes scenarios such as a launch failure. APT Satellite
has not stated whether it plans to launch Apstar 5B on a Long
March, though historically it has launched all of its satellites
using Long March.
Alcatel,
Loral, and an unnamed Asian company, submitted bids to build
Apstar 5B. Boeing and Lockheed Martin both declined to bid, both
companies concerned that they could not overcome the export
restrictions related to launching a satellite from China.
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