Arianespace signed a contract with Australian operator SingTel Optus to orbit the Optus-11 satellite using the Ariane 6 heavy launch vehicle. Optus-11 will be the seventh SingTel Optus satellite launched by Arianespace.
Arianespace and Australian operator SingTel Optus signed the launch contract for the Optus-11 communications satellite. The launch, scheduled for the second half of 2023, will use the Ariane 64 version of the Ariane 6 launcher, with four solid boosters.
Optus-11 is a Ku-band communications satellite with a coverage zone encompassing Australia and New Zealand. Optus-11 incorporates a number of advanced technologies, especially the latest developments in digital processing, plus active antennas enabling the creation of several thousand beams. Fully configurable in orbit, this satellite will expand the capacity of the operator’s current geostationary orbit constellation – making it the largest constellation ever deployed by an Australian company.
“We are delighted and honored by this renewed mark of confidence from the operator SingTel Optus. Over the last 21 years, we have carried out all launches for Optus, and Ariane 6 will now continue this long and successful track record,”
noted Stéphane Israël, Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace.
“A vital element to the successful deployment of a new satellite are the partners that we work with. We are delighted to be partnering again with Arianespace, who’s demonstrated over many years the ability to consistently deliver a precise deployment and speed to orbit,”
said Ben White, Managing Director, Wholesale, Satellite and Strategy at Optus.
The Ariane 64 configuration for this mission provides enhanced performance to inject the Optus-11 satellite into a high-energy geostationary transfer orbit, enabling it to start operation more quickly.
About Arianespace
Arianespace uses space to make life better on Earth by providing launch services for all types of satellites into all orbits. It has orbited over 1,000 satellites since 1980, using its family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, from launch sites in French Guiana (South America) and from the Russian cosmodromes in Baikonur and Vostochny. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a technical facility at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and Singapore. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, which holds 74% of its share capital, with the balance held by 15 other shareholders from the European launcher industry.
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