Dubai, United Arab Emirates – May 16th, 2023. Today, Arabsat announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Loft Orbital (Loft) to collaborate on the mission definition for a future infrastructure in low earth orbit (LEO). Both companies will work together to create the infrastructure that will cater to the needs of various sectors of Arabsat’s customers.
Arabsat plans to utilize Loft’s space infrastructure platform to provide earth observation services to all 22 member countries of the Arab League. This will allow for the development of reliable applications across agriculture, transport and logistics, borders and maritime monitoring, and environmental protection. Loft will fly these missions on their turnkey satellite platform called Longbow, using Cockpit, a mission-agnostic satellite operations software.
“We are excited to work with Arabsat to provide reliable and simple access to space,” said Pierre-Damien Vaujour, CEO and cofounder of Loft Orbital. “This MOU strengthens our commitment to provide new capabilities in LEO for this region.”
“The agreement with Loft Orbital advances the strategic objectives of Arabsat, complements its traditional GEO telecommunications activities with additional LEO satellite services for the government and private sectors, and will support the earth observation needs of these sectors considering the rapid growth of the Saudi and Arabic markets,” said Eng. AlHamedi Alanezi, President & CEO of Arabsat. “We aim to launch these joint services soon.”
Loft Orbital and Arabsat will share more about their cooperation at the Arabsat booth at CABSAT 2023, in Dubai, UAE.
About Loft Orbital
Loft Orbital provides the space infrastructure for a fast and simple path to orbit for any enterprise. The company’s turnkey satellite platform, combined a modular payload integrator and mission-agnostic satellite operations software, lets commercial and government clients focus on their mission, without worrying about the technical details. Loft Orbital is an international company, with offices in San Francisco-CA, Golden-CO and Toulouse-FR. To learn more about Loft Orbital, please visit www.loftorbital.com.
About Arabsat
Arabsat was founded in 1976 by the then 21 members of the League of Arab States and has been working to meet the needs of the Arab world for more than 46 years, from its headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and two satellite control ground stations in Riyadh and Tunisia.
Arabsat is one of the leading satellite operators in the world and is also the leading satellite service provider in the Arab world, as it carries more than 650 television channels, 245 radio stations, paid TV networks and a wide range of HD channels. It reaches tens of millions of homes in more than 100 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Central Asia. It is followed by more than 300 million viewers. Arabsat operates a fleet of state-of-the-art technology at 20 East, 26 East, 30.5 East and 39 East in a fixed orbit around the Earth. Arabsat is also the only operator in the Middle East and North Africa region that provides a full spectrum of radio, television, telecommunications, and broadband services. Arabsat also maintains a strategic partnership with most of the world’s leading satellite and value-added companies, with Arabsat acquiring Hella Sat, one of the leading satellite communications groups in Southeast Europe. These partnerships and acquisitions give Arabsat access to new orbital location rights and frequencies, and wider coverage allowing customers to offer content and technical solutions to viewers or partners around the world.
Loft Orbital Media Contact
Kati Dahm
kati@loftorbital.com
Arabsat Media Contact
Alia Al-Hebshi
aliah@arabsat.com
