TAMPA, Fla. - Avanti Communications is finally closing the book on its debt-fueled geostationary expansion, a financial hangover that once defined the British satellite operator. The company announced June 10 it has agreed to sell its Hylas-3 Ka-band hosted payload to Japan’s Sky Perfect JSAT, which is apparently in an expansion mood and has three new satellites on order for geostationary orbit (GEO).
Hylas-3 launched in 2019 and operates at 31 degrees East, covering Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia. It rides on a spacecraft that also carries the EDRS-C payload for the European Data Relay System (EDRS). A Sky Perfect JSAT spokesperson said the satellite would be relocated to cover more of Asia, “in coordination with relevant stakeholders prior to, or as part of, the transfer process,” which is a diplomatic way of saying they'll figure out the paperwork later.
The European Space Agency, which uses EDRS-C to beam Earth observation data to Europe in near-real time, punted questions to Airbus, the data relay network’s owner and operator. Airbus and Avanti did not respond to requests for comment, probably because they're busy. The EDRS constellation also includes the EDRS-A payload on Eutelsat’s 9B satellite in GEO.
“Sky Perfect JSAT’s planned services will utilize the Ka-band communications payload; however, we are unable to disclose details regarding the other co-hosted payloads,” the Sky Perfect JSAT spokesperson said via email, leaving everyone to wonder what else is up there. The payload, to be renamed JSAT-144D, will bring Sky Perfect JSAT's GEO fleet to 18 satellites, with three more in the pipeline.
Hylas-3 was originally supposed to help Avanti sniff out new broadband markets ahead of its high-throughput Hylas-4 spacecraft, armed with eight steerable beams. But Hylas-3 was already years behind schedule by the time Hylas-4 deployed in 2018, which itself was helping ease capacity constraints after Avanti warned that Hylas-1 and Hylas-2 were losing value faster than expected thanks to emerging competition over sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
In another cosmic kick in the pants, Hylas-3 finally launched just months before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global connectivity and financial markets, slowing its rollout to a crawl. Hylas-1 is still chugging along beyond its 15-year design life since 2010, while Hylas-2 launched in 2012. Citing insurance sources, SpaceNews reported in 2023 that Hylas-4 was operating with reduced power due to an issue with onboard Power Processing Units that impacted thrusters on several satellites. Avanti said at the time that all its satellites were healthy and operating normally, but declined to elaborate, which is what you say when you don't want to admit your space hardware has the sniffles.
The Hylas-3 sale comes as regional GEO operators face mounting pressure from SpaceX’s Starlink and other low Earth orbit broadband (LEO) constellations. Since a major refinancing in 2022, when Avanti investors agreed to swap debt for equity (a polite way of saying they took a bath), the operator has shifted focus toward partnerships rather than large satellite procurements, including a deal to integrate Telesat’s planned Lightspeed LEO network with its GEO services.