The US-based,Canadian-owned satellite manufacturer, Space Systems/Loral, has been awarded a contract to build the JCSAT 15 and JCSAT 16 communications satellites for the Japanese satellite operator Skyperfect/JSat. The spacecraft are to be constructed using the Space Systems/Loral LS-1300 bus design and will be launched in 2016.
Operating in Ku-band, JCSAT-15 is planned to be a 10kW power satellite which will be located at 110 degrees East longitude where it will replace the N-SAT 110 satellite currently on orbit. JCSAT-16 will be a 8.5kW power satellite which will be available as a back-up to the existing fleet.