Spanish satellite fleet operator HISPASAT has selected European commercial launch services provider Arianespace to launch its two satellites, Amazonas 4A and HISPASAT AG1, in 2014.

HISPASAT chief executive officer Carlos Espinós and Arianespace chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall signed a contract in Paris for the launch of the two satellites, which will allow the Spanish operator to provide a wide range of communications and television services.

Amazonas 4A and HISPASAT AG1 will be the eighth and ninth satellites from the HISPASAT group to be launched by Arianespace.

Espinós said that with Amazonas 4A, millions of South Americans would gain access to high-quality telecom and TV services and will meet market requirements, in particular for broadcasts of the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

"The AG1 represents a new milestone in the path of HISPASAT’s innovation, incorporating a new and more efficient payload."

"The AG1 represents a new milestone in the path of HISPASAT’s innovation, incorporating a new and more efficient payload," Espinós added.

Amazonas 4A, which will have a lifespan of 15 years, will be sent into space by an Ariane 5 or Soyuz rocket in early 2014 from the Guiana Space Center, a spaceport in French Guiana.

The satellite built by Orbital Sciences using a GEOStar 2.4 platform will have a planned launch mass of 3t, and hold a payload of 24 Ku-band transponders.

Amazonas 4A will be located at orbital position 61º west and is expected to boost the group’s space capabilities in Latin America.

HISPASAT AG1 will be launched by an Ariane 5 in late 2014; it is the first mission of the Small Geo platform built by Germany’s OHB Systems in collaboration with the European Space Agency and HISPASAT.

The satellite will have a planned launch mass of 3.2t, carry up to 20 Ku-band transponders and up to three Ka-band transponders, as well as active antennas of reconfigurable beams.

It will include the regenerative REDSAT payload, which allows the group to use the satellite’s power efficiently, while simultaneously increasing its transmission capacity and reducing communication costs.

As of 1 September, Arianespace has carried out 208 Ariane launches and 26 from the Soyuz.