A Hispasat ground control center. Photo: Hispasat

[Via Satellite 02-05-2016] Spanish satellite operator Hispasat is preparing the ground segment for the new Hispasat 1F and Amazonas 5 satellites, having awarded a $5.5 million contract to Indra for the supply of four ground stations along with other upgrades. Two of the stations will be installed in the Hispasat control center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, while another will be put into operation in the Canary Islands, and the fourth in Madrid, Spain. Indra is also updating several existing stations, which were supplied in previous contracts.

Both new satellites bring additional capacity to Latin America. Amazonas 5 primarily targets television platforms in Latin America and Brazil, though it also has Ka-band capacity for new Internet connectivity services. Hispasat 1F will serve as a replacement to Hispasat 1D, providing additional Ku-band capacity to the Andean and Brazilian regions, while enabling greater two-way transatlantic communications between Europe and the Americas and vice versa.

Based in Spain, Indra has implemented the system that controls the Amazonas 1, 2, 3 and 4 satellites and the Hispasat 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E satellites. The company’s new contract calls for the completion of the upgrades by January 2017.