Saudi STC Group orders a small GEO satellite from Astranis

On September 12th, American satellite manufacturer Astranis announced that Saudi telecommunications giant STC Group will order a small geostationary orbit satellite from its Block 3 launch mission to replace its original customer, Mexican telecommunications company Apco Networks. STC Group is Astranis' second Middle Eastern client, after Oman's MB Group replaced the satellite seat of Philippine Orbits Corp in Block 3. Thai com in Thailand and China Telecom in Taiwan, China, China, also have one satellite listed in this batch of launches. The batch was originally planned to be launched by the end of 2025 using SpaceX's Falcon 9 dedicated rocket, but due to the malfunction of the UtilitySat thruster in Block 2, the launch window has been postponed to the first quarter of 2027. Astranis stated that the electric propulsion system supplier has been replaced, and the related issues have been resolved. The final assembly, integration, and testing of Block 3 satellite are progressing smoothly.