SpaceX Headquarters, Hawthorne, CA
Image Credit: SpaceX

[Via Satellite 08-23-13] The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $105.4 million loan to Space Communication (Spacecom) to finance the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launch of the Amos 6 communications satellite, the purchase of American made-solar arrays, and insurance brokered by Marsh USA (Marsh). Amos 6 will replace Spacecom’s Amos 2 and cover markets in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The satellite, which is scheduled to launch in 2015, will also provide pan-European coverage and broadband services in Europe and Africa.

Satellite financing represents Ex-Im Bank’s most prominent stand-out sector in the Bank’s newly transformed portfolio. Just three years ago, satellites accounted for only $50 million in authorizations per year. This year numbers as the third consecutive year in which Ex-Im Bank’s satellite sector authorizations will have topped $1 billion. The transaction is also Ex-Im Bank’s third in support of a SpaceX launch, and it will support approximately 600 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.