Inmarsat will use SpaceX‘s Falcon Heavy or Falcon 9 vehicle for up to three future space mission launches in a move that Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce says will help secure his company against future schedule risks.“In view of capacity constraints in the satellite launch market, Inmarsat believes that securing optionality today is an important business safeguard, ” Pearce said Wednesday.
The agreement includes the launch of Inmarsat’s S-band satellite payload, for which SpaceX will work with Hellas-Sat to cover the launch vehicle cost.
Two other potential missions are for the Inmarsat-5 spare satellite, to be launched by mid-2016, and the future Inmarsat-6 satellite to be launched by the end of this decade.
Inmarsat said the agreements are intended to ensure a launch date and establish potential costs while the planning stage is in progress.
