- First flight model to be used for ESA/Inmarsat Alphasat mission
Toulouse, 23 November, 2007 - Astrium and Thales Alenia Space are jointly developing Alphabus, the new European platform for next generation high power communications satellites. The Alphabus programme development is supported jointly by ESA (European Space Agency) through the ARTES-8 technology programme and CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales of France).
Following the recent agreement between Inmarsat and ESA, the first flight model of the Alphabus platform will be used for the Alphasat satellite, which will carry a large commercial communications payload for Inmarsat, as well as three technology demonstration payloads for ESA.
The Alphabus programme is currently in the Critical Design Review phase, an important milestone to be reached in mid-December, and is on track for the delivery of the PFM (Protoflight Model) in the course of 2009 to the Alphasat programme.
The Alphabus platform is designed for communications satellites with payload power in the range 12-18 kW. Satellites based on Alphabus will have a launch mass in the range 6 to 8 tonnes. In order to cover the mission range in an optimised way, the platform product line includes several options such as electric propulsion, and features scalable resources (solar array, radiators for thermal dissipation, etc). The platform will be able to accommodate up to 190 high power transponders and large antenna farms, and will have a significant growth potential (20 kW payload power and 9 tonnes launch mass for the extended range).
Alphabus is being developed to address the top end of the telecom satellite market. A joint project team is in charge of project management and engineering. Specific responsibilities for Astrium include: Electrical Functional chain, Solar arrays, Chemical propulsion, as well as Spacecraft Assembly, Integration and Test. Thales Alenia Space is in charge of the Mechanical and Thermal subsystems, Avionics (Data Handling and attitude and Control) and Electrical propulsion. The platform equipments are procured from selected European suppliers. Astrium and Thales Alenia Space will jointly market Alphabus for commercial communications satellites applications on the world market.
About Astrium
Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2006, Astrium had a turnover of €3.2 billion and 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are: Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2006, EADS generated revenues of €39.4 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116, 000.
Astrium Press Contacts:
Rémi Roland (Astrium FR) - tel: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 37 - remi.roland@astrium.eads.net
Jeremy Close (Astrium UK) - tel: +44 (0)1 438 77 38 72 - jeremy.close@astrium.eads.net
http://www.astrium.eads.net
About Thales Alenia Space
European leader in satellite systems and at the forefront of orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Together with Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space forms the “Space Alliance” between the two groups. The company is a worldwide reference in telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. With 7200 employees and 11 industrial sites, Thales Alenia Space is located in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
Thales Alenia Space Press Contacts
Florence Pontieux - Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 91 26 - florence.pontieux@thalesaleniaspace.com
Sandrine Bielecki Tel: - +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 - sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com
www.thalesaleniaspace.com
