Arianespace announced on 30 September 2015 that it has signed a contract with the Argentinean operator ARSAT (Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anónima) to launch its next geostationary satellite, ARSAT-3, plus options on two more launches.
The launch contract was signed on the eve of the launch of ARSAT-2 and a year after the successful launch of ARSAT-1 in October 2014.
With a liftoff mass of approximately 3,000 kg, ARSAT-3 will be launched in 2019. The launch is likely to be flown by an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle
The two options involve two geostationary satellites that are similar to ARSAT-3, and for which their launches are planned for the 2020-2023 timeframe.
