All systems go' for UAE satellite launch

Officials behind the planned launch of the UAE's second satellite sometime in mid-April say despite another delay in recent days, "all systems are now go." Martin Gee, chief technical officer with Al Yah Satellite Communications Company said satellite Y1B is now second in line behind an imminent launch of another corporation's satellite and will be good to go in a couple of months. "The spacecraft is ready to be shipped to the launchsite," he told Gulf News. The delay was due to a domino effect of previous delays of satellite launches that affected future launches including that of Yahsat. "The confidence is increasing," Gee told Gulf News, noting that any satellite launch was subject to delays caused by myriad factors from earthquakes to bad weather windows. "We want to give the message that we're ready to launch," Gee said. In the meantime, Yahsat is keeping its second satellite in storage where it will be thoroughly tested to shorten preparation time needed just before the April launch of Y1B, he said. When Yahsat gets the green light, the satellite will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The company said the Y1B "will provide broadband satellite communication, internet and corporate data transfer services across the Middle East, Africa, and South West Asia." Yahsat said its newest satellite will offer "voice, data, video and internet connectivity solutions designed to accommodate the demand for emerging applications in the satellite industry including satellite broadband, HDTV and various other satellite services."