Satellite and Space
Projects News
January 2015
Orbital and ATK merger: The US Department of Justice has
include international cooperation in the field of aerospace
technologies.
unconditionally cleared the proposed merger of Alliant Techsystems
Inc's (ATK's) Aerospace and Defense Groups with Orbital Sciences
Corporation, it was announced on 4 December 2014. Provided that
shareholders of the two companies approve the deal, the merger is
expected to complete in February 2015.
Azercosmos and Gilat deal: Satellite operator, Azercosmos
Open Joint Stock Company (OJSCo), and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd
have signed an agreement for OJSCo to use Gilat's SkyEdge II-c network
for multi-application satellite managed services for Azercosmos
customers. Azercosmos provides broadband and broadcast solutions
to customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and
Central Asia via its telecommunications satellite, Azerspace-1.
Successful test for SpaceDataHighway: The European
Data Relay System (EDRS), also known as the SpaceDataHighway, has
successfully completed its first ever gigabit transmission via laser
imagery. EDRS is the product of a Private Public Partnership between
the European Space Agency and Airbus Defence and Space and will
deliver high-speed data transfer for Low Earth Orbit satellites using
Laser Communication Terminal technology. As well as serving ESA's
Earth observation project, Copernicus, EDRS will also be used for
security and emergency response, with remaining bandwidth available
for commercial use.
Lunar Mission One successfully funded: The Kickstarter
fundraising for Lunar Mission One, the programme to land a robotic
craft on the moon, successfully generated over £670,000 in December.
The Lunar Mission One team will now establish the joint venture to
pursue the project. Fieldfisher is advising the Lunar Mission One
project.
Russia and China satellite talks: The Russian Satellite
Communications Company (RSCC) and China's Great Wall Industry
Corporation (Great Wall) are in talks over potentially cooperating on
building, launching and operating communications satellites. Great
Wall is the foreign trade arm of China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corporation. It is the only business entity authorized by
the PRC Government to engage in commercial launches and its powers
This e-mail/publication is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for detailed
advice on specific transactions and should not be taken as providing legal advice on any of the topics
discussed, nor should it be taken as creating a solicitor-client relationship between the reader and Field
Fisher Waterhouse LLP.
Please note that where this email/publication contains links to pages/items on third party websites,
while such information may be available to be viewed and downloaded, this is subject always to the
terms and conditions applicable to the particular website(s). Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is not
responsible for the content or operation of third party websites.
A digest of recent news from the
satellite and space projects sector
UK's £200m funding: The UK Space Agency announced on 12
December that it is to make an extra investment of over £200m in
Europe's space programme. The funding includes £47.7m towards
Europe's ExoMars mission, securing a lead role for the UK in the design
and development of the Mars rover module.
Surrey Satellite wins contracts for smart satellites:
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd has won the contract to provide a new
small geostationary satellite platform to Eutelsat's programme for its
software defined, smart, "Eutelsat Quantum" class of satellites.
Funded by the European Space Agency's ARTES 33 partner program,
including £56.9m from the UK Space Agency, Eutelsat Quantum will
offer greater flexibility for re-configuration in-orbit. The payload for
the satellite will be developed by Airbus Defence and Space UK.
Airbus Defence and Space wins Copernicus
contract: The European Space Agency has selected Airbus Defence
and Space as prime contractor to develop and build the first satellite
for the Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 mission to carry out high-precision
measurements of ocean surface topography. Sentinel-6 is part of
Copernicus, the European Earth observation programme.
O3b launch: O3b Networks successfully launched four satellites
from French Guiana on 18 December 2014, completing the satellite
operator's planned initial constellation. The new satellites will join
eight satellites in O3b's existing constellation delivering high speed
global broadband connectivity. O3b expects that the four satellites
will be fully integrated into its network early in 2015 following in-orbit
testing.
Contacts
To find out more about our expertise in the satellite and space
sector, please contact:
John Worthy
Partner - London
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 7861 4392
Space Transactions UK Lawyer of the Year 2014, Corporate
LiveWire awards
Find out more about our Satellite and Space Projects team.
Copyright ©Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP 2014. All rights reserved.
Brussels / Dusseldorf / Hamburg / London / Manchester / Munich / Palo Alto / Paris / Shanghai / fieldfisher.com