[Satellite TODAY 03-27-13] International Launch Services (ILS) has successfully launched the Satmex 8 satellite for Mexican satellite operator, Satmex. The ILS Proton Breeze M vehicle launched from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 01:07 today local time. It was the first successful launch for ILS this year.
 

    Satmex 8 will replace Satmex 5 adding 45 percent of total capacity and providing enhanced performance in North, Central and South America at the 116.8 west orbital location. This new high-power, fixed service satellite has 24 C- and 40 Ku-band transponders, and will improve the current continental and regional services for broadband, video contribution and distribution, cellular backhaul, and distance learning. 

    The news is a major boost for ILS and good news for operators as both ILS and Sea Launch look to bounce back from recent troubles. In particular, ILS is hoping to make up for lost ground after issues in launching the Yamal 402 satellite for Gazprom Space Systems in December. Trouble occurred on this mission in early December, and even though the satellite was eventually placed into orbit, it now has a reduced lifespan. ILS has now returned to flight, a little over three months after this incident.
 

    Phil Slack, the new president of ILS, said at SATELLITE 2013 that the company was looking forward to “an active 2013”, despite the late start. The company hopes to have anywhere between 10 to 12 launches this year. Slack also confirmed at the event that ILS has no plans to expand its portfolio of launch vehicles in the near future.

    For Satmex, the launch of Satmex 8 is a vital part of the business plan, as the company looks to overcome a troubled past which saw it enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011. The operator is now on an upward curve, and the launch of Satmex 8 is the next step on its growth plan. While Satmex derives around 30 percent of its revenues from Mexico, it is looking to explore more opportunities internationally. In an interview with Via Satellite last year, Patricio Northland, the company’s CEO said he saw a number of growth opportunities for Satmex. 
 

    “There are some new DTH platforms emerging, but growth is also strong from existing platforms. We are also beginning to see potential growth opportunities on our cable neighborhood capacity. DTH and cable operators want to move into HD programming, which requires additional capacity. I would say that all of the existing video networks will require significant amounts of additional capacity. Satmex is well positioned to provide capacity to those video networks looking to grow. We can reach all of the Spanish speaking countries in South America, like Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, etc. That is one very specific growth opportunity for us. The second area of growth for us is cellular backhaul. We continue to see a tremendous amount of growth on cellular telephony networks,” he said. 
 

    Latin America remains one of satellite’s hot markets, and Satmex, with its now expanded capacity should be in a position to benefit. “While advanced economies have seen slow or even negative economic growth, the economies of Africa, Latin America, and Asia have expanded rapidly. With underlying economic growth over 5 percent – compared to 2 to 3 percent in advanced economies – these regions have seen higher levels of new demand for satellite services. There is also a liberalization factor, where a number of countries have loosened controls on the media, telecommunications, and licensing of satellite broadcasts. This of course stimulates new requirements and unleashes pent-up demand. The real question is the sustainability of growth – so again follow the trends in macroeconomic activity and regulation, meaning a country-by country approach,” says Jacob Gullish, Director, Space & Telecommunications Division, Futron.