Thaicom orders the Thaicom-10 OneSat from Airbus. Photo: Airbus

Thaicom awarded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions the contract for an end-to-end ground system for the Thaicom-10 satellite, announcing the award on Sept. 16. 

Under the contract, Kratos will deliver a satellite operation center, which will allow Thaicom to fly the satellite, plan the satellite resources, and orchestrate the satellite payload configuration along with the ground. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Airbus is building Thaicom-10, a software-defined satellite based on the OneSat platform, along with ground control segment components. Eutelsat and Thaicom are partnering on the satellite and Eutelsat is committed to half of the satellite’s capacity. Thaicom ordered the satellite one year ago in September 2023. 

Thaicom-10 is the first reconfigurable satellite for Asian regional satellite operator Thaicom. 

“As we modernize and replenish our satellite fleet, Kratos is providing advanced ground capabilities such as traffic planning, resource orchestration, and performance monitoring to support our software-defined satellite,” said Park Boonyubol, Senior Vice President of Technology and Satellite Operations at Thaicom. “Their proven experience delivering a complete satellite control system brings us confidence that we will maximize the full value of our Thaicom-10 satellite.”