News Summaries for November 18

Intelsat Opts Not To Replace Retiring Satellites (Source: Space News)
Intelsat Ltd. is planning a substantial reduction in the size of its in-orbit fleet over the coming years as it elects not to replace retiring satellites at certain orbital positions in the wake of the company’s takeover of PanAmSat. Following its mid-2006 purchase of PanAmSat, Intelsat be¬came the world’s largest commercial satellite operator with 51 fully owned satellites in orbit. To keep capital expenses to a minimum and reduce debt, Intelsat is seeking to rationalize the fleet.

Inmarsat Satellite Broadband Service Taps 5,547 Subscribers (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat officials on Nov. 15 for the first time disclosed early market reaction to the company’s BGAN mobile-broadband service for the first time Nov. 15, saying that 5,547 subscribers had signed up as of Sept. 30, generating $3.2 million in revenue for the period ending that same day. These modest figures for a service that is only now being made widely available are in line with London-based Inmarsat’s business plan, Inmarsat officials said.

Loral’s Revenue Up 38 Percent from 3Q Last Year (Source: Space News)
Loral’s effort to raise $300 million by issuing preferred shares is motivated not by an impending strategic purchase but by concerns that its existing satellite manufacturing and transponder leasing businesses remain credible to prospective customers, according to Loral Chief Executive Michael B. Targoff.

Spot Image To Market South Korean High-Res Satellite (Source: Space News)
South Korea’s Kompsat-2 high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite is being positioned in the market as a 1-meter-resolution spacecraft whose images will be openly available to most customers, according to South Korean and French officials responsible for selling the data.

U.S. Mulls Options for New Photoreconnaissance System (Source: Space News)
As the White House puts the finishing touches on its budget request to Congress for 2008, the U.S. national security community continues to debate the capabilities to be included on a new series of photoreconnaissance satellites that likely will have to be under contract within the next year or so. NRO is considering two main alternatives: a low-risk system relying heavily on proven technology, and a more capable system that likely would take longer and cost more to build. There also could be various combinations of the two.