Jabiru-1 Satellite Communications Project at 2012 ASX Roadshow

Online, April 10, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The past three months have been very busy for Australia's independent satellite communications carrier NewSat as it seeks to raise credit funds for the construction of its first satellite. NewSat CEO Adrian Ballintine was in London and New York to meet with major funds managers, appraising them with updates on the Jabiru-1 satellite communications program. Ballintine also went to Washington to discuss Jabiru plans, meeting the management team of Lockheed Martin which is building the Jabiru-1 Ka-band satellite, and the Arianespace team which will launch it.

Pre-launch contracts keep on multiplying as NewSat's international profile improves. Recently, the company was nominated at the 2012 World Teleport Awards for the independent teleport operator category. The nomination attests to the outstanding satellite communications service of the NewSat, said Ballintine. Being named the best out of 1,700 teleport operators in the world speaks a lot about the company's quality of service, boasts the CEO. He attributed this achievement to the people and resources involved in running and keeping the company's teleports in Australia.

Ballintine claimed that NewSat was the smallest satellite operator that participated in the 2012 ASX Emerging Growth Conference. The event was held in London and New York, and majority of the participating companies belong to the oil and resources industries.
Despite being the smallest firm in the show, NewSat was well represented, attracting big audience at the sessions where it was present.

The ASX conference helped the company improved its international business profile and that of Jabiru. Ballintine said Australia has a specialized knowledge of resources markets, but when it comes to satellite markets, international collaboration would be the best way to go.

Arianaspace will launch Jabiru-1 via Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The target date is the fourth quarter of 2014. The communications satellite will come in A2100 platform, weighing 5,900 kg at launch, equipped with 50 Ka-band transponders.