Ovzon 3 on course to miss regulatory deadline after latest delay

Ovzon will likely need another deadline extension to keep priority spectrum rights for Ovzon 3, the Swedish satcom service provider’s first broadband satellite now slated to launch no earlier than late 2023. The company said June 22 that Ovzon 3 will miss a July-September launch window because of final assembly and testing delays, in addition to work taking longer than expected to change launch providers from Arianespace to SpaceX. Ovzon 3 was already at risk of missing a Dec. 31 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) deadline to start providing services from its designated geostationary orbit slot if it was deployed late in the previous launch window. Because the Maxar Technologies-built satellite will rely on electric propulsion, it will take several months to climb to its slot at 59.7 degrees East after reaching geostationary transfer orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Ovzon announced in February that it had switched launch providers after manufacturing delays caused Ovzon 3 to miss a ride on one of Arianespace’s last remaining Ariane 5 missions. A month later, Ovzon said the satellite’s Dec. 15, 2022, Bring into Use deadline had been extended a year by the ITU, a United Nations affiliate. Ovzon 3 was originally planned to launch in 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy before the company secured a more attractive deal with Arianespace and encountered manufacturing delays that have been attributed to pandemic-related supply chain issues.

Ovzon 3 is being built by Maxar using a Legion-class bus. At 1,500 kilograms, Ovzon’s first custom-built satellite is small compared to traditional geostationary communications satellites. Credit: Maxar/Ovzon/Proventus AB

Systems-level dynamics tests that Maxar is due to start in early July will significantly reduce schedule risk and enable Ovzon to give a more accurate launch date, Ovzon said in a June 22 news release announcing the delay.

Ovzon described these tests as the last major milestone for finalizing the spacecraft.

“Maxar is in the final stages of integration and test on Ovzon 3 after addressing modifications related to the change of launch vehicle,” Maxar spokesperson Mark Lewis said in response to questions about the satellite’s latest delay.

“Like Ovzon has said, we are working together to ensure the satellite is ready for launch as soon as possible.”

Per Norén, Ovzon’s CEO, said in a statement that he does not anticipate any further lengthy delays for the program.

“We are excited to be in this final phase and for the overall high quality of the satellite, but this is not the time for haste nor being overly optimistic about the importance of the remaining tasks,” he said.

Ovzon’s current broadband business relies on leasing capacity from other satellite operators.

Despite the delays, Norén said the operational and commercial model for its first satellite remains solid and is “more relevant today than ever.”

Ovzon said the satellite’s latest delay would also not affect its current commercial activities.

The company has previously said Ovzon-3’s manufacturing delays have increased the project’s overall cost by around $25 million.

Maxar Technologies acquired by private equity firm in $6.4 billion deal

Maxar Technologies, a space company that gained global attention with its high-resolution satellite images of the Ukraine war, is being acquired by the private equity firm Advent International for $6.4 billion. Under the deal announced Dec. 16, Advent is acquiring all outstanding shares of Maxar common stock for $53.00 per share in cash, more than double Maxar’s stock price of $23.10 on December 15, the company’s last full trading day as a public company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in mid-2023. Advent International, based in Boston, Massachusetts, is a global firm with $89 billion in assets. Maxar is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. The acquisition will help Maxar “to accelerate investment in and development of the company’s next-generation satellite technologies and data insights for its customers,” the company said in a statement. Maxar, with an estimated $2 billion in revenue for 2022, will remain a U.S.-controlled and operated company. The company is the U.S. government’s primary supplier of satellite imagery and in May secured a $3.2 billion agreement with the National Reconnaissance Office to provide imagery over the next 10 years. Separately from its satellite imaging business, Maxar also operates a satellite factory in Palo Alto, California, a business that delivered more than 100 large geostationary communications satellites over the past three decades but has faced headwinds from declining commercial orders and has been pursuing defense and intelligence contracts. As a private company, Maxar said, it will be better positioned to successfully deploy a $600 million next-generation WorldView Legion imaging constellation, a program that has been plagued by delays.

“With approximately $28 billion invested across the defense, security and cybersecurity sectors in the last three years, Advent’s portfolio companies have substantial expertise supporting many satellite and defense platforms which serve the U.S. government and its allies as well as companies across the globe,” the company said.

Daniel Jablonsky, president and CEO of Maxar, called the $6.4 billion acquisition “an exceptional outcome for stockholders” and a validation of the company’s products and reputation.

“As a private company, we will be able to move faster, including in next generation satellite technologies,” Jablonsky told SpaceNews Dec. 16.

He said Advent wants to accelerate the deployment of WorldView Legion seven and eight after the initial six satellites are in orbit. Under the previous plan, “we wouldn’t have started spending on them until the tail end of 2024, maybe the beginning of 2025,” he said. “This allows us to go faster and get those birds up sooner for our customers.”

Jablonsky said Advent also is committed to the satellite manufacturing business. “That’s been part of the turnaround story here at Maxar,” he said, noting the company recently received orders for two new Sirius XM satellites. “We are excited about continuing to do that.”

David Mussafer, chairman and managing partner of Advent, said Maxar is a “uniquely positioned and attractive asset in satellite manufacturing and space-based high-resolution imagery, with an incredible workforce and many opportunities ahead.”

Maxar became a U.S. corporation about two years ago when the company spun off the Canadian subsidiary MDA. The Canadian firm MDA purchased the Palo Alto-based satellite manufacturer Space Systems Loral in 2012 and in 2017 acquired the Westminster-based Earth-imaging firm DigitalGlobe. The combined companies were rebranded Maxar Technologies in 2018, and MDA was sold off in 2020.