FUTURE SATELLITES

The Hispasat 36W-1 satellite finished all the scheduled activities and was sent to the launch base at Kourou on 30 November 2016. Throughout the year, the satellite satisfactorily passed all of the thermal vacuum tests, compact range antenna testing and final functional tests. Once at the launch base in Kourou, all of the verifications were completed after being transported from Europe, demonstrating its proper functioning. The satellite is ready to be filled with fuel, integrated with the launcher and launched at the end of January 2017 with the Soyuz launch vehicle.

Work on the Amazonas 5 and Hispasat 30W-6 satellites has continued to make progress on the integration and testing stages at the Space Systems Loral facilities in Palo Alto. Both satellites completed the payload and bus integration and testing, proceeding with integration of both modules to then carry out satellite integration activities.

The initial functional tests were the next step for the Amazonas 5 and Hispasat 30W-6, which also successfully completed the thermal vacuum tests. At the end of the year, Amazonas 5 completed the vibration and acoustic environment tests. In 2017 all testing will be completed and Amazonas 5 and Hispasat 30W-6 will be launched.

With respect to the launchers, Proton M-Breeze and Falcon 9, critical design revisions that tested their capacity to launch either of the two satellites were carried out in 2016. In 2017, HISPASAT will decide the assignment of each launch vehicle.