Hughes Space and Communications has received a contract from Russia to build, launch and provide the ground-station equipment for the Bonum 1 satellite.
The Bonum 1 will be operated by Media Most, a major private Russian media group which is developing satellite-television services. The craft will be an HS-376 spin-stabilised high-power spacecraft - the 53rd to be sold - due for launch in November 1998 on a Boeing Delta 2 and to be placed into geostationary orbit at 36¹E.
The satellite will carry eight Ku-band transponders, which, because of the use of digital-compression technology, will be capable of providing up to 50 channels.
Source: Flight International
