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Alphasat 1-XL satellite prepares for launch.
Image credit: ESA
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[Satellite TODAY 06-17-13] Alphasat, a new communications satellite, has left Astrium’s facilities in Toulouse after completion of its final integration and test campaign. The satellite is now en route to Kourou, French Guyana, to be prepared for its launch aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, scheduled for the end of July.
Designed and built by Astrium for Inmarsat, Alphasat carries a new generation of advanced geomobile communications payload in L-band. The satellite is expected to augment Inmarsat’s broadband network service across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, providing new capabilities in terms of performance and resource availability. It will also deliver additional L-band space segment redundancy and consolidate safety of life services for the aeronautical and maritime sectors.
Astrium also led the payload design and production, which features an 11-meter antenna reflector, and eight new generation digital signal processors. These are able to efficiently manage multiple communications with maximum flexibility in both frequency and beam power allocation.
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