Arianespace has announced that it has been chosen to launch Hispasat’s new communications satellite, Hispasat 1E, at the end of 2010. This is the first signed launch contract in 2009 for the company.
Hispasat 1E will be carried aboard an Ariane 5 rocket and launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite will be built by Space Systems/Loral using an LS 1300 platform.
The satellite will include 53 active Ku-band transponders and will be positioned in geostationary orbit at 30 degrees West. Hispasat 1E will be the sixth Spanish satellite launched by Arianespace.