The Argentine Government is negotiating with Nahuelsat’s shareholders so as to take, at no cost, the assets of the current private dealer of the Argentine flag satellite to incorporate them into the operation of the new national company ArSat. As it was pointed out by Gabrielli to Convergencialatina, “the indispensable condition is that it will be made without the State keeping liabilities or contingencies (pending trials)”.

At the same time, ArSat made an "offers certified copy”- that expires tomorrow, Wednesday- among eight satellite operators (Intelsat, SES Global, Telesat, Eutelsat –Hispasat, Loral, StarOne, Telespazio and Israeli Spacecom-Amos) so that they offer services continuity to the customers of the current satellite, Nahuel 1, whose useful life is about to end, and so that they place a unit in 81º0 North to provide services in North America. Both proposals still in track are Intelsat and SES Global’s.

Tomorrow, ArSat will decide between one of the two, but the most probable is that it chooses SES Global. The AMC 6 satellite of SES Americom launched in the year 2000 is in the same orbit position (72º) than the Nahuel 1. Currently, the AMC 6 has a partial presence in Latin America and it should only refocus it towards the south.

Intelsat, on the contrary, could provide service from another position and it will be possible that some customers are lost, with the resulting income fall for ArSat. SES would charge ArSat almost US$ 12 million per year to continue connecting users that will give ArSat some US$ 15 million annual in billing.

Once it formally chooses between SES Global and Intelsat tomorrow, AsSat will have time until October 31 to finish the negotiation that should be then approved by the shareholders' meeting of the State-owned satellite company; that, at that time, are the eight ministers of the National Cabinet.

At the same time, and with the same month-end term, ArSat should close the negotiation with the shareholders of Nahuelsat, EADS and Finmeccanica. According to Gabrielli, the strategic objective of the current Argentine Government is not to support with all its might a State satellite operator, but to “use ArSat to develop national technology for the manufacturing of satellites”, and to build the new Argentine flag satellite as first step to generate an aerospace industry of export. The process of manufacturing a satellite takes, at least, five years. Namely, if Argentina could build its own unit, it would be in orbit by 2011 or 2012.

While this technological project develops, the Argentine Government has two big urgent problems to solve: at first, give continuity to the customers using Nahuel I and keeping the orbit 72ºW busy. Secondly, to take the 81ºW orbit with a satellite before October 2007 when the extension granted by the ITU expires.

Once the customers are moved to SES satellite, ArSat would remove Nahuel I up to the orbit 81ºW to temporarily take the position lighting the south of the Americas as the ITU requires it. The question is whether this unit will hold on until the definite ship is placed there, in five years. There are experts that affirm that, without customers and saving energy, this satellite could extend its vegetative life sending signals, namely, with the minimum activity required by the ITU. Others believe that not even in this way the satellite Nahuel I will hold until 2011 or 2012.

SES would place a satellite in the 81ºW, only for the north hemisphere, for which there is a good demand, mainly in DTH services (satellite television direct to the home). ArSat would keep an income  percentage of that satellite. The current billing of Nahuelsat, plus what is obtained by this means, will give ArSat a cash flow to develop with its project of national aerospace technological drive, its main objective.

ArSat will command the State-owned INVAP technology, the technological development of the new small satellite to light the 81ºW. The total cost for manufacturing and putting in orbit this satellite- including insurances and launcher- would be of US$ 150 million. The technological development - the sketches and the production plan- will cost around US$ 30 million and it will be kept as ArSat’s assets for its export project. Then it will be decided who will be the manufacturer. Probably, the INVAP itself, if it is possible.

The launch will be through the western traditional launcher. The possibility of using the Chinese launcher Long March that worried United States is left aside.

To place this first national manufacturing satellite in 81º0 South, ArSat could join other of the seven mentioned companies that presented proposals – all the calls for the certified copy except for Loral, which until today did not present an offer for the 72ºW. Gabrielli emphasized that “the good will of these seven companies to join with Arsat, were all very interesting offer”.

If ArSat's national manufacturing project – that will be fulfilled in five years- turned successful, the Argentine State-owned could place other two small satellites in the orbit 72ºW and maybe one more in the 81ºW in the following years.

One of the main obstacles that ArSat will have to face in this way is the contract entered into by former secretary of Communications, Guillermo Moreno, with the Canadian company Telesat to make sure that it places urgently the orbit 81ºW with a “gadget”.  Not only because this operation cost US$ 2 million due to direct hiring that certainly will question the control bodies of the State in the future, but also the Argentine State committed to sell to Telesat capacity in 81ºW at subsidized prices that would cause Arsat a damage of US$ 7 million a year.