| Operator | Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites |
|---|---|
| Mission type | A platform for Communication satellite in geostationary orbit |
| Launch vehicle | All types of commercial launch vehicles |
| Mission duration | up to 15 years |
| Mass | more than 6 tons |
| Power | up to 22 kW |
Alphabus is the name given to a family of heavy geostationary communications satellites.
Alphabus is developed by a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space[1] and EADS Astrium Satellites in France, with support of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the french space agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).
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, 40 % more than the most powerful Spacebus 4000[2].
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 (22 kW payload power and 9 tonnes launch mass for the extended range).[3]
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Development of the new satellite, made in cooperation between the two large European satellite manufacturers, take into account the best lessons learned from previous incarnations of similar satellites: the Spacebus and Eurostar families, respectively from Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites.
Inmarsat awarded a contract to EADS Astrium Satellites[4] for a first use of such a platform. The satellite is named Alphasat I-XL, and will augment Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service. The satellite will support a new generation of mobile technologies and enable communications across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East is set to launch in 2012.
The first service module of the new Alphabus completed its first journey at the end of January 2010 – from Cannes to Toulouse, in France. The three-day trip used an exceptional convoy made up of a 20 m-long lorry carrying the satellite container, several escort cars and a police escort to close off streets and redirect traffic as they passed through urban areas[5].