July 07, 2006

Arianespace will launch Arabsat’s BADR-6 satellite

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As part of its upcoming ambitious fleet renewal and expansion program for the next 3 years, Satcom operator Arabsat has selected Arianespace for the launch of its recently ordered BADR-6 satellite in 2008.

Khalid Balkheyour, President & CEO, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, have signed yesterday in Paris the according launch contracts.

This is the 10th contract signed by Arianespace with customers from the Middle East.

BADR-6 (technically, Arabsat-4AR) will be launched by an Ariane 5 during the first half of 2008, from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

With this new order, satellites operator Arabsat, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has now entrusted Arianespace with the launch of as much as six spacecrafts.

“Our partnership with Arianespace is not new, it dates back to five successful launches and we are proud to renew it with BADR-6 and hopefully many more successful launches” stated Eng. Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat President & CEO. “We were impressed by their customer-oriented approach and the high professional level they’ve demonstrated during the negotiation, and are looking forward to the success of this important launch campaign for us as part of our extensive fleet renewal plans over the very coming years” he added.

“Arianespace is very proud and honoured to have once again been chosen by the leading operator Arabsat,” said Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall. “We have maintained a preferred relationship with Arabsat since launching the Arabsat-1A satellite in 1985. Furthermore, being chosen for this new satellite launch right when Arabsat has announced an ambitious deployment plan is a clear recognition of the top quality and excellence offered by Arianespace’s launch service” and concluded “we consider it as a significant milestone, hopefully strengthening our cooperation in the close future”.

The BADR-6 satellite

BADR-6, a fourth-generation satellite, will be built jointly by EADS-Astrium and AlcatelAleniaSpace for the communications payload, based on the Eurostar 2000+ platform. Weighing 3,400 kg at launch, the satellite will be fitted with 24 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders with a design life of about 15 years. BADR-6 is designed to primarily provide video broadcasting services for the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from Arabsat’s 26°East geostationary orbital location and by far the MENA region’s leading video neighbourhood. Co-located with the rest of the BADR constellation of satellites at Arabsat’s “hot-spot” for Direct-to-Home broadcast entertainment, it will be reaching an audience of 130 Million viewers from Morocco to the Gulf and a large part of sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, BADR-6 will also provide Arabsat with additional in-orbit back-up capacity for its core television and radio customers, as well as a significantly larger number of options for optimizing its telephony and data transmissions.

About Arianespace

Arianespace is the world’s leading launch services company, delivering innovative launch solutions to customers from around the world for over 25 years. Today, Arianespace has 23 shareholders from ten European countries, including French space agency CNES with 34%, EADS with 28% and the balance held by all companies participating in Ariane launcher production. Since its creation, Arianespace has signed 275 launch contracts and launched 235 satellites. More than two-thirds of all commercial satellites now in service were launched by Arianespace. Arianespace operates worldwide, through its headquarters in Evry-Courcouronnes, near Paris, the North American subsidiary Arianespace Inc., in Washington, D.C., and offices in Tokyo and Singapore to cover the Asia-Pacific zone.

About Arabsat

Backed by the 22 member countries of the Arab League, and with a 30 years heritage of continuous operations, Arabsat offers the Arab World an unmatchable range of satellite-based communications’ services such as Direct-to-Home television and radio, telephony, Internet backbone and direct broadband as well as the provision of VSAT and other interactive services that meet both current and emerging demands. Ranked as the world’s 10th largest Satellite Operator, Arabsat is committed to keep expanding its services in order to meet the evolving needs of its customers. Its vision is to consolidate its long-standing leading regional position as the pioneer of satellite communications in the Arab world by delivering an unparalleled level of service in the MENA region, providing quality products, employing the most skilled individuals, and remaining at the forefront of new technologies. Arabsat is the only qualified organization in the Middle East with a fully integrated fleet of satellites operating on most frequency bands and encompassing within a single beam the whole region from Morocco to the Gulf and a large part of sub-Saharan Africa. — Further information can be found at www.arabsat.com

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