Satmex 6 launch pushed back to Q2

The launch of Mexican satellite operator Satmex's fourth satellite Satmex 6 has been pushed back to the second quarter of 2004, the company said in a statement to the SEC on Thursday. "There are two main reasons for [the delay]. We haven't finished our financial restructuring negotiations," Satmex operations vice president Arturo Gonzalez told BNamericas, adding that 2Q04 is the earliest that Ariane Space could launch Satmex 6 because the other launch windows are taken. Previous statements from the company put the launch between December 15, 2003 and January 15 of next year, with the possibility it could be moved to later in the first half of 2004. Before any launch can take place Satmex must restructure US$320mn in senior notes and access financing to pay the launch insurance. Satmex said in the same statement that the primary propulsion system on its Satmex 5 satellite failed on November 17 and that a back up system also crashed on December 1, but was later restored. In the event both primary and secondary propulsion systems fail, Satmex 5 can fall back on a tertiary chemical propulsion system to maintain its orbit. Satmex's existing fleet consists of Satmex 5 and Solidaridad II. A third satellite, Solidaridad I, was lost in space due to technical failures in 2000.