The UAE-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunication Company recently announced plans to launch its second satellite, Thuraya-2. A Sea Launch platform will be used to launch the ground spare satellite by the end of 2002.
Chief Executive of Development at Thuraya, Jamal Jarwan, said that the company has yet to decide which world region will be served by the satellite. At the moment, the competition is between East Asia and Europe, reported Al-Hayat.
Thuraya-1 provides more than 1.8 billion people in 11 countries in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe with mobile telephone services. Boeing Satellite Systems built the first 5,108-kilogram spacecraft, which was launched into orbit from the Pacific Ocean one year ago. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
