Power System Failure Expected To Cost Amazonas 4A Half its Capacity, Prompt $100M Insurance Claim
PARIS — The power system failure on the Hispasat Amazonas 4A satellite is likely to result in an estimated 50 percent loss of capacity and an insurance claim equivalent to 50 percent of the satellite’s insured value of 145 million euros ($199 million), industry officials said.
Officials cautioned that the satellite’s owner, Madrid-based Hispasat, has not yet informed insurance underwriters of a precise estimate of the capacity loss. The estimate will depend on how much power margin Hispasat built into the spacecraft and whether the anomaly, in addition to cutting available power, will have the effect of reducing the satellite’s planned 15-year service life.
Amazonas 4A was built by Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., and launched in March. Its power system failure — which Orbital, without describing it in detail, has said is specific to Amazonas 4A and does not threaten other Orbital-built satellites — occurred in early April.
Satellite operators often specify that new satellites are built with more power than is needed to fulfill their business plans, in part because solar array efficiency degrades over time, and in part to protect against in-orbit anomalies.
Once Orbital, Hispasat and the satellite’s insurance underwriters agree on the likely cause of the problem, they will need to estimate its effects over 15 years and come to an agreement on the percentage of service capacity that will be lost over the years, and to settle on a correlating insurance payment.
Amazonas 4A was built by Orbital Sciences and launched on March 24th for positioning at 61 degrees West,
Amazonas 4A is spanish communications satellite to provide services to the south american continent.
Amazonas 4A carries a payload of 24 Ku-band transponders with coverage of South America, from Venezuela and Colombia in the north, to Argentina and Chile in the south. Satellite design performance is 46 to 48.5 dBW throughout the South American mainland.
The contract for Amazonas 4A and the higher power Amazonas 4B was signed in June 2012 with launch of Amazonas 4A scheduled for early 2014.
Amazonas 4A sufferd a power-subsystem malfunction shortly after launch, which resulted in a permanent reduction in the satellite’s capacityencourages healthy competition between platforms and allows users to watch television without a subscription.
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