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Hispasat
Selects Astrium to Build Amazonas Satellite
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On December 20
the Hispasat Board of Directors selected Astrium to build Amazonas
1 for launch in the spring of 2004. The spacecraft is  licensed
to carry 63 transponders, 36 of which will operate on Ku-band
frequencies with north-south and transatlantic connectivity and 27
on C-band frequencies. The satellite will be positioned at the 61°W
orbital slot.
The investment
for the project is Euros 300.5 million euros of which US$213
million (Euros 240.4 million) is planned for the construction of
the satellite and launch. Euros 60 million will be used to build a
control station for the satellite in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hispasat has secured an eight-year loan of Euros 30 million from
the Spanish Official Credit Institute to cover some of the costs
associated with setting up a Latin American affiliate to manage
Amazonas. Telemar, of Brazil, is a minority partner in the
project.
.gif) In
August 2001, Eutelsat and Hispasat formed a joint venture to own
and operate the Amazonas satellite. At that time Eutelsat S.A.
reached an agreement to acquire 21.5% of Hispasat S.A., with the
potential to increase its stake in excess of 30%. Eutelsat's
investment in Hispasat will be completed in two phases. Eutelsat
will acquire 17%of the existing shareholders' capital released in
proportion to their holdings and will simultaneously acquire 5%
through the subscription to a capital increase of Hispasat. In the
second phase Eutelsat could potentially acquire up to a further 8%
of the company from shareholders and 5% through newly issued
shares.
Hispasat
was founded in 1989, licensed to use the Spanish orbital slot of
30°W with three satellites Hispasat 1A, 1B, 1C located there. The
company provides coverage over Spain and Portugal across the
Atlantic, all the Latin American countries and the United States.
A fourth satellite Hispasat 1D is scheduled for launch in 2002.
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