[SatNews] SES WORLD SKIES U.S. Government Solutions has received an order under the U.S. Government's new $5 billion Future Commercial SATCOM Acquisition (FCSA) program to provide C-band capacity to Artel Inc. for support of government initiatives.

The contract includes two 36 MHz C-band transponders on an SES satellite covering the North American region and represents the first FCSA contract for the global satellite operator. Through the agreement with Artel, SES' capacity will be used to provide continuous access to satellite communications in support of the U.S. Air Force's Space Test and Training Range. Tip Osterthaler, President and CEO of SES WORLD SKIES U.S. Government Solutions remarked, "One of our first contracts with the U.S. Government was with the Air Force in 1975. As a proud contributor to Air Force communications for over 35 years, it's with great pleasure that we're able to offer our capacity to Artel as our first agreement under the new FCSA program."