TAMPA, Fla. — Eutelsat has ended capacity leases on two Russian spacecraft after one failed in orbit and the other is set to relocate, escaping contracts hit by Western sanctions and the structural decline in TV broadcasts from geostationary orbit (GEO).
The Paris-based company had planned to lease capacity for at least three more years from Express-AT1 and Express-AT2, which launched together in 2014 for Russia's state-owned operator RSCC.
RSCC announced last week that Express-AT1 had ceased operating March 4 for unknown reasons and was declared lost after Russia's ISS Reshetnev, the satellite's manufacturer, was unable to restore operations.
