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WASHINGTON – The apparent failure of the ChinaSat-18 telecommunication satellite, which remains in a transfer orbit more than a week after its launch, has prompted subscribers to prepare for a near-ineluctable claim to erase profits. Space insurance for a second year in a row.
ChinaSat-18 satellite of China Satcom, which, according to industry sources, has SpaceNews insured for $ 250 million, encountered a potentially fatal problem as a result of its alleged successful launch on Aug. 19 aboard a Long March 3B rocket.
Although subscribed by the popular Chinese insurance company, ChinaSat-18 has been reinsured on the international market, which means that foreign insurers are probably responsible for most China Satcom claims, industry sources said.
Industry sources said the payment of a claim by ChinaSat-18, coupled with the failed launch of Vega in July, destroyed the Falcon Eye-1 remote sensing satellite provided by the United Arab Emirates for around 415 million, will likely exceed the total amount of insurance premiums for 2019.
"This will definitely be a losing year" for space insurers, according to a sector source. "Last year was a losing year and this year will also be a losing year."
ChinaSat-18, also known as Zhongxing-18, is the first satellite based on the DFH-4E, an upgraded version of the DFH-4 platform established by China Great Wall Industry Corp. The satellite was to complete China Satcom coverage in high speed Ka band, joining ChinaSat-16, launched in May 2017.
According to rumors, ChinaSat-18 would have failed during the deployment of solar panels as soon as doubts about the mission surfaced.
"People are starting to draw their own conclusions, but there is nothing official," said an industry source. China Satcom has not yet filed a complaint, the source said.
Of the 21 Chinese satellites based on DFH-4, two had solar panel problems – the Nigerian communication satellite NigComSat-1 in 2008 and SinoSat-2 in 2006 – which caused their failure.
If ChinaSat-18 did not deploy its solar panels, its batteries would probably be exhausted, making contact impossible.
ChinaSat-18 remains in a geostationary transfer orbit instead of a circularized geosynchronous orbit, according to Space-Track data.
China Satcom operates 16 geostationary satellites. The company's expansion into the Ka band had attracted the attention of US operator Viasat, which announced a partnership with China Satcom in April to provide in-flight connectivity in China using its network and access to the domestic market.
The Israeli company Gilat Satellite Networks was selected in 2018 to supply the land network to ChinaSat-18, as well as to ChinaSat-16.
Andrew Jones contributed to this story in Helsinki, Finland.
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