Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




TECH SPACE
Alphasat deploys its giant reflector in orbit
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Aug 07, 2013


Alphasat ESA artist's impression.

Alphasat, Europe's largest-ever telecom satellite, reached a temporary position in the geostationary ring last weekend, where it deployed its 11 m-diameter main antenna over the course of a day - marking ten days in orbit and completing one of the final steps towards starting services.

It will stay in this slot for several weeks while Inmarsat together with ESA continue testing the telecom payload, the backup units on the Alphabus platform and ESA's four hosted payloads.

Several major milestones have been met over the past few days, including rising to geostationary altitude after separation from its Ariane 5 launcher, and deploying its twin four-panel solar wings, spanning 40 m.

The panels rotate automatically, following the Sun, while Alphasat's sophisticated attitude control system tracks its position above Earth.

All of these milestones were assured by a team from Astrium, the Alphasat prime contractor, managed by Inmarsat. In a cooperative effort unprecedented in Europe, the team was supported by ESA and France's CNES space agency, as well as Thales Alenia Space for Alphabus platform operations.

Alphasat uses the first flight model of the new platform. The Alphabus line, developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, under a joint contract to ESA and CNES, is Europe's response to market demand for increased broadcasting services.

It accommodates missions with up to 22 kW of payload power and mass up to two tonnes. As a high-power multipurpose platform, it gives European industry an unprecedented and unique position in the global telecom market.

Jena-Optonik's Astro APS startracker was the first hosted payload to be switched on, measuring the satellite's attitude.

Alphasat joins Inmarsat's award-winning I-4 satellite fleet, which has been powering global broadband connectivity for government and commercial customers in the L-band since 2009.

The new satellite with its new-generation advanced payload will provide additional mobile satellite communications capacity over Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

.


Related Links
Alphasat
Space Technology News - Applications and Research






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TECH SPACE
Mission Criticality of Space Mechanisms - Part 1
Bethesda MD (SPX) Aug 07, 2013
The failure of a single space vehicle mechanism can cause a total loss of mission. This criticality is compounded by the fact that redundancy in mechanisms is often impractical. Consider this fictitious scenario: After a successful launch and injection, one of the four release mechanisms holding satellite XYZ to the rocket fails to release, thus preventing the spacecraft from deploying fro ... read more


TECH SPACE
Environmental Controls Move Beyond Earth

Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame

Moon Base and Beyond

First-ever lunar south pole mission could be attempted by 2016

TECH SPACE
Full Curiosity Traverse Passes One-Mile Mark

Curious craters on Mars said result of impacts into ancient ice

NASA Begins Launch Preparations for Next Mars Mission

NASA Curiosity Rover Approaches First Anniversary on Mars

TECH SPACE
Study: Teleportation would have a slight time-to-transmit problem

NASA technologist makes traveling to hard-to-reach destinations easier

First Liquid Hydrogen Tank Barrel Segment for SLS Core Completed

Tenth Parachute Test for NASA's Orion Adds 10,000 Feet of Success

TECH SPACE
China launches three experimental satellites

Medical quarantine over for Shenzhou-10 astronauts

China's astronauts ready for longer missions

Chinese probe reaches record height in space travel

TECH SPACE
NASA's Firestation on way to ISS

Weekly recap from the International Space Station expedition lead scientist

NSBRI Wants Ideas To Support Space Crew Health and Performance

NASA narrows list of possible culprits in spacesuit water leak

TECH SPACE
Next Ariane 5 is readied to receive its dual-satellite payload

Russia to restart Proton rocket launches after crash

Japanese rocket takes supplies, robot to space station

SpaceX Awarded Launch Reservation Contract for Largest Canadian Space Program

TECH SPACE
New Explorer Mission Chooses the 'Just-Right' Orbit

'Blinking' stellar system may yield clues to planet formation

Pulsating star sheds light on exoplanet

Chandra Sees Eclipsing Planet in X-rays for First Time

TECH SPACE
Discovery could lead to end of sunburn pain

Alphasat deploys its giant reflector in orbit

Largest neuronal network simulation achieved using K computer

Mission Criticality of Space Mechanisms - Part 1




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement