SpainSat NG I mission launch. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX launched the communications satellite SpainSat NG I on Wednesday, Jan. 29. for Hisdesat.

The Falcon 9 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 8:34 p.m. ET., launching the satellite to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This was the 21st and final flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster.

Airbus Defence & Space and Thales Alenia Space led the execution and construction of SpainSat NG I. The satellite was based on the Airbus Eurostar Neo platform.The two companies also constructed a twin satellite, SpainSat NG II, which is set to launch in the fall. 

The SpainSat NG satellites will replace the current Hisdesat communications satellites, Spainsat and XTAR-EUR. 

The SpainSat NG I is set to provide services to the Spanish Armed Forces, international organizations and governments of allied countries, starting in the second half of 2025. The services will include: command of Armed Forces operations over two thirds of the Earth’s surface, communication capability in areas lacking infrastructure and secure governmental communications in any operational environment.

Hisdesat said the X-Band active antenna system, comprising both receive and transmit antennas, is a key feature of the satellite. In the launch broadcast, Hisdesat CEO Miguel Angel Garcia Primo commented: “Something as complex as the DRAs [dielectric resonator antennas] in X-band, an active antenna that can move the beams electronically and can configure the beam electronically without any movement is what makes this satellite the most advanced one in Europe today.”

As the prime contractor, Airbus Defence and Space designed, integrated and tested the satellite at the Airbus facilities in Toulouse, France. Airbus in Spain developed the X-band transmit and receive active antenna system, providing the functionality equivalent to 16 traditional antennas. Thales was responsible for the ultra high frequency (UHF) and military Ka-band payloads and the integration of the communication module.

The technologies on the SpainSat NG I were developed as part of the Pacis 3 ESA-Hisdesat Partnership through the European Space Agency (ESA) ARTES programme, supported by the Spanish Space Agency.