WASHINGTON — Japan’s SKY Perfect JSAT has ordered a satellite from Thales Alenia Space to sustain its geostationary services, marking the European manufacturer’s second commercial contract this year in an increasingly competitive market.
The JSAT-32 satellite is slated to launch in 2027 to provide Ku and Ka-band broadband and broadcast services over Japan and surrounding areas, replacing aging spacecraft in the region, Thales Alenia Space announced March 10.
Like the THOR 8 satellite ordered by Space Norway earlier this year, JSAT-32 will be based on Thales Alenia Space’s legacy Spacebus 4000B2 platform rather than its software-defined model, which allows in-orbit reprogramming to adapt to demand changes.
While software-defined satellites are growing in popularity — SKY Perfect JSAT ordered one last year based on Thales Alenia Space’s INSPIRE (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration) platform — hardware-defined spacecraft can be better optimized for dedicated missions.
JSAT-32 is the fourth commercial communications satellite announced this year for geostationary orbit, joining a secret contract for U.S.-based Maxar Space Systems and a recently unveiled small GEO spacecraft for Switzerland’s Swissto12.
It’s a strong start to the year after 2024 saw commercial GEO communications satellite orders drop to their lowest level in two decades, with just six announced — far from the 15-20 typically put out to tender in the past as the rise of low Earth orbit constellations continues to disrupt the market.
Emerging small GEO manufacturers like Swissto12 are also capturing a growing share of the limited opportunities, offering a lower-cost alternative tailored to regional needs.
With a launch mass of 3.7 tons, JSAT-32 would be about four times larger than the HummingSat platform, which Swissto12 is set to deploy for the first time next year, while companies like Astranis are building their business around even smaller GEO spacecraft.
