The parameters I've seen in FlaToday, 862 X 98 miles vs planned 15,969 X 115, look pretty worthless to me, at least as far as getting to GEO.
Maybe, they can circularize at an orbit compatible with shuttle and retrieve the bird; that's been done before (with smaller satellites, however) and the insurance companies eventually made some recovery of their payout, by refurbing and relaunching the satellite.
But for Loral's present purposes, I expect it's already preparing a claim. Only question I have, is who held the insurance? It could have been Hughes, in which case I expect it would use the proceeds to build and launch another HS601.
If Loral holds the insurance, I guess it can do what it wants with the money, subject to the covenants on Orion's debt, including buying a replacement s/c from SS/L. I agree w/ OK2L (6016): financially, this is not the worst thing that could happen to Loral. I'd sure rather lose this bird than any more G*s. |
