http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMCGT1DU8E_index_2.html
ESA PR 31-2005. Today at the Paris Air Show/Le Bourget, the contract was
signed for the development of Alphabus, the new European platform for
the next generation of telecommunications satellites.
The contract was signed by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Centre
National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), EADS Astrium and Alcatel Space. It
marks the start of the Alphabus development programme with a view to
production of the first flight model around 2009.
Alphabus, which was given the go-ahead by ESA's Member States at the
Edinburgh ministerial conference in November 2001, is the work of an
integrated team - ESA/CNES and EADS Astrium/Alcatel Space - which has
designed a product targeted at the upper segment of the telecom
satellite market.
ESA, CNES, EADS Astrium and Alcatel Space have thus pooled their
technical and financial resources for a joint development programme.
Alphabus will offer Europe reliable solutions matching world demand for
very high-power satellites and will be commercialised jointly by EADS
Astrium and Alcatel Space as from 2007.
The Alphabus platform was designed for telecom satellites delivering
payload power of 12 to 18 kW.
Alphabus will contribute to the replacement of the major operators'
satellites, by offering a lower cost per transponder and the capability
to fly reconfigurable missions. Alphabus will make new applications
possible. These include the new generation of mobile and broadband
services, digital radio broadcasting and high-definition TV.
Satellites based on Alphabus will have a lift-off mass of 6 to 8 tonnes
and be optimised for the new generation of launchers with a fairing
diameter of 5 m. The platform will accommodate near 200 high-power
transponders and numerous antennas and have a high growth potential.
The joint prime contractor for the Alphabus platform is EADS Astrium and
Alcatel Space. The industrial structure includes other European firms,
providing all the equipment making up this innovative product, which
should enable Europe to retain its competitive edge on the world
satellite market.
The Alphabus programme is supported jointly by ESA and CNES which have,
on this occasion, introduced new cooperation rules in order to respond
to market needs as closely as possible and help in setting up a genuine
industrial team benefiting from the best of the resources that the
European space industry can offer.
--
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