 The Alphasat I-XL, designed by Astrium. Note the massive antenna reflector. (Source: EADS Astrium)
Britain is developing one whopper of a telecom satellite
Weighing it at six metric tons, the Alphasat I-XL will be one of the largest
commercial satellites in existence upon its completion. The satellite,
sponsored by London based industrialist Inmarsat, will provide high-speed
internet service in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Inmarsat maintains a high-speed global broadband network, called BGan.
BGan is made up of already large I-4 satellites, but it is falling behind
broadband demands and needed an even bigger satellite partner to anchor the
network.
That’s where the I-XL comes roaring into the picture. It will support
over five times the capability of its predecessors. The satellite will allow
business people to get half-megabit internet connections on land and sea,
anywhere in the world, no matter how remote. It is attracting significant
support from journalists, disaster relief workers, the maritime industry, and
the petroleum industry. The system uses laptop size terminals to catch
the signal.
EADS Astrium has been tasked with providing the brains for this brawny
satellite. The firm is enthused about the new business venture with Inmarsat.
They feel their signal processing and central processing capabilities will give
the satellite an unbeatable edge.
"This satellite will access additional spectrum and it will be able to
supply approximately five times the communications capacity of a single
Inmarsat 4 satellite. With advances we've made, we've been able to pack
an awful lot more electronics within the existing volume. It is a technology
step forward in terms of the brains of the satellite which is built in the
UK," said Dave Robson from EADS Astrium, the firm designing the
satellite's signal processing.
Astrium will also be manufacturing the spacecraft chassis and is partnering
with Thales Alenia Space for this part of the work.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and France's space agency, CENS, are
collaborating on the project to provide a sufficient platform to support the
satellite's needs. The new platform is dubbed “Alphabus” and is designed to
help Europe stay competitive in the commercial satellite market.
Inmarsat will be its first commercial customer. The Alphabus platform can
support satellites of up to eight tons and 18 kW of payload power. It
also is looking to implement ion thrusters in the future to provide a more
efficient boost for large satellites in order to help them stay in orbit.
The I-XL features a beefy 12m aperture antenna reflector. Its mission
length is 15 years, and it will require a hearty 12 kW of power during this
time.
The price tag of the I-XL for Inmarsat will be around 260m €. The
Alphabus platform, whose bill is being footed by 16 participating states, will
cost around 440m €.
Due to the massive size, the I-XL will likely have to launch on an Ariane 5
rocket, Europe's premier launch vehicle. A launch target of 2013 has been
set.
For more space news, check out DailyTech's coverage of JAXA's high
definition earth-rise
and moon pictures,
and the November 2007
international space updates.
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