Orbital Sciences, under a contract with Boeing, has completed work on the Mexsat Bicentenario communications satellite to provide Mexico and the surrounding maritime area with communications solutions, the companies announced.
   The Mexsat Bicentenario was designed, manufactured and tested by Orbital and has shipped to Kourou, French Guiana, scheduled to launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket on Dec. 19. The Mexsat Communications Network will be comprised of three satellites, two ground telemetry and control sites, associated network operations systems, and reference user terminals, where Boeing serves as prime contractor for Mexsat.
   Boeing will provide two larger Boeing 702HP geomobile satellites, each supplying 14 kilowatts of power and carrying a 22-meter L-band reflector for mobile satellite services, which are scheduled to launch in 2013 and 2014. Once the satellites are launched and undergo on-orbit testing, the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes of Mexico will take over day-to-day operations. “Mexsat Bicentenario is based on Orbital’s flight-proven GEOStar-2 platform, which enabled us to deliver the spacecraft on a short delivery schedule,” Orbital Sciences Communications Satellite Programs Senior Vice President Christopher Richmond said in a statement. “We are looking forward to a successful launch and a smooth on-orbit checkout sequence.”