Es’hailSat - the Qatar Satellite Company - has announced that Es’hail-2, the company’s second satellite, has cleared its critical design review (CDR), permitting the spacecraft to move into the assembly phase and remain on schedule for a 2016 launch.
Mitsubishi Electric Company (Melco) is building Es’hail-2, a high-performance satellite that will be positioned at the 26-degrees East hotspot position for TV broadcasting, significantly adding to the company’s ability to provide high-quality, premium DTH television content across the Middle East and North Africa,
according to a statement.
Es’hail-2 will have Ku-band and Ka-band capabilities and provide TV distribution and government services to strategic stakeholders and commercial customers who value broadcasting and communications independence, interference resilience, quality of service and wide
geographical coverage.
“Moreover, Es’hail-2 will provide the first Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (Amsat) geostationary communication capability that connects users across the visible globe in one single hop and in real time. It will allow also the Amsat community to validate and demonstrate their DVB standard,” the statement notes.
Ali al-Kuwari, CEO of Es’hailSat, said: “Passing critical design review validates that Es’hail-2 will meet our requirements and perform as expected for our stakeholders and customers. We are pleased to be moving forward with our satellite build programme with Melco as Es’hail-2 plays a key role in our commitment to providing premium satellite capacity for the Mena region”.  
Es’hail-1, Qatar’s first satellite, entered commercial service on Qatar National Day, December 18, 2013. Through its existing and planned satellites, Es’hailSat will broadcast diversified and high-quality premium programming with anti-jamming
capabilities across the Mena region.
Al Jazeera and beIN Sports and a growing number of channels are already using Es’hail-1 capacity for high-definition broadcasting of their premium content.