O3b Orders Eight More Satellites from Thales Alenia Space To Complete Constellation

摘要

Satellite builder Thales Alenia Space on Dec. 10 said it had contracted with satellite broadband provider O3b Networks to build eight additional O3b medium-Earth-orbit satellites, a move that will bring the O3b constellation to 20 spacecraft by mid-2018. The value of the contract was not disclosed. But O3b, based in Britain's Channel Islands, announced separately Dec. 10 that it had raised $460 million in "incremental financing" to pay for the new satellites. The satellite contract alone carries an estimated value of between $350 million and $400 million, according to industry estimates.