Abu Dhabi will launch its third communications satellite into orbit by the end of next year.
Yahsat, the Abu Dhabi-based satellite operator, a wholly owned company of the Mubadala Development Company, and Orbital Sciences Corporation announced that they have completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the Al Yah 3 spacecraft and payload, costing Dh1.47 billion.
The third satellite to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2016 will extend Al Yahsat's commercial Ka-band coverage to an additional 17 countries and 600 million users. This spacecraft places the satellite operator as the world's eighth largest operator in terms of revenue and as a leader in innovative satellite solutions.
The spacecraft will be the first hybrid electric propulsion GEOStar-3-based spacecraft, which will have the benefits of higher power and greater payload capability while still maintaining advantageous launch costs. Al Yah 3 is an all Ka High Throughput Satellite to be designed, manufactured and tested at Orbital's satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, VA.
The PDR was a comprehensive review that validated Orbital's design approach to the physical and functional requirements of the spacecraft. The review is the first step toward confirming that the satellite will operate effectively on orbit.
Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer at Yahsat said: "The Preliminary Design Review is an industry standard process where our engineers review and confirm the overall architecture and design of our Al Yah 3 satellite.
"This is a significant step forward in the development phase of Al Yah 3 and ensures that we are on track to launch as scheduled for Q4 2016,” he said.
"While progress is underway with developing our third satellite, we are actively engaging with potential partners in Africa and Brazil enabling us to deploy much needed connectivity to underserved markets,” the chief executive said.
Once operational, Al Yah 3 will enable the delivery of affordable broadband, to over 600 million users, specifically covering more than 95 per cent of the population in Brazil and 60 per cent of the population in Africa. Orbital Science Corporation will manufacture the satellite and Arianespace and will launch the new satellite into orbit from French Guiana.
"This important milestone is a key step towards the Al Yah 3 launch,” said Christopher Richmond, Orbital's Senior Vice-President. – Yahsat, the UAE-based satellite operator.
The agreements supplement Yahsat's world-class partnership model and knowledge-sharing vision, which aims at bringing UAE technology and home-grown services to some of the world's most unconnected and underserved regions.
The selection also supports Yahsat's objective of finding the right balance between cost, innovation and reliability for this crucial next step in the execution of the company's growth strategy.
Source: Khaleej Times

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