In November 2007, leading provider of global mobile satellite communications Inmarsat selected Astrium as prime contractor for its new Alphasat I-XL satellite to augment its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service.
Alphasat I-XL will support a new generation of mobile technologies and enable communications across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It will provide increased capacity able to handle more than 750 channels in L-band with increased efficiency of spectrum use and improved quality, particularly for satellite phone users.
Alphasat I-XL will feature a new-generation digital signal processor for the payload, and a 12-metre aperture antenna reflector. The spacecraft will have a launch mass of more than 6,000 kg at launch, an electrical power of 12 kW. Planned for launch in 2012, Alphasat I-XL has a design lifetime of 15 years.
The Alphasat contract is supported by ESA and national space agencies. The Alphasat satellite will utilise the protoflight model of the Alphabus platform, currently under development by the European satellite industry, and in addition to the Inmarsat geomobile mission, its payload capacity will be used to support the development of three Technology Demonstration Payloads (TDPs) selected by ESA.
