Optus first announced its Optus 10 satellite back in March 2011, as we reported here, and in April this year the company said it had completed the final pre-shipment review and that the satellite was being transported to the Guiana Space Centre.

"This satellite will expand fleet resilience and significantly increase Optus' fleet capacity, providing greater bandwidth to support the delivery of video, data and voice services to corporate, enterprise and government customers,"  Optus Satellite VP Paul Sheridan said in a statement.

Tthe Optus 10 is designed to operate in the Ku-band FSS and BSS bands across Australia, New Zealand and Antarctic regions, and has a projected lifespan of more than 15 years.

Optus 10 will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

In August this year Australian company NewSat announced its Jabiru-2 satellite had been delayed "due to an issue with the co-passenger satellite" which would undergo "additional testing". That co-passenger satellite was Optus 10.

Everything now seems ready to go, though Optus said this new date is subject to change according to atmospheric conditions and technical considerations at the launch site.

Last year Optus' parent company SingTel attempted to sell its satellite business but couldn't find a buyer.

“As previously indicated, SingTel initiated a strategic review of the Optus Satellite business in March this year. SingTel has concluded this process. Based on the review, SingTel is committed to growing and investing in the satellite business," SingTel said in a statement.

The company has since shown it's indeed committed to its satellite arm, also announcing an extension of its deal with the Department of Defence.