Airbus Defence and Space has been awarded a €550 million ( US$588 million) contract by the London-based mobile communications firm Inmarsat to built the first two satellites in its next generation Inmarsat 6 family. The announcement was made on 23 December 2015. The all electric satellites will be built using the Eurostar E3000e platform and will offer 200 spotbeams in L-band via a 9m diameter antenna and stearable Ka-band spot beam connectivity via nine multi-beam antennas. The first of the satellites, Inmarsat 6-F1 (aka Inmarsat-6 F1 or I-6 F1), will be launched in 2020 on an as yet unspecified launch vehicle, with Inmarsat 6-F2 (aka Inmarsat-6 F2 or I-6 F2) following afterwards.
After being dropped off in a transfer orbit short of GEO, each satellite will use electric propulsion to achieve its final GEO position about four to six months after launch. The spacecraft will operate for 15 year minimum service lives.
