Yahsat Y1B reaches orbital location

The second communications satellite from UAE operator Yahsat has successfully reached its operational slot in geostationary orbit at 47.5 degrees East, following its launch on 24 April. "Y1B will offer affordable, uninterrupted and high-speed satellite broadband internet service for under-served communities across the region via our YahClick service. Now in its final position, controllers will spend the next several weeks testing every aspect of the satellite's functionality before its systems are activated for Y1B's duel commercial and civil missions," said Tareq Abdel Raheem Al Hosani, chief executive, Yahsat. The Y1B, which was launched on a Proton-M vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, now joins the company's Y1A satellite, which provides the YahLive high definition (HD) satellite TV service across the Middle East and North Africa. Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) is a private joint stock company fully owned by Mubadala, an investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi.