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ESA Pushes Electric-Propulsion Satellites Further into the Spotlight
[Satellite News 12-04-12] When satellite manufacturer Boeing unveiled its 702-SP satellite platform with an all-electric propulsion system in March 2012, it packaged the buzz with immediate endorsements from Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) and Satmex in new spacecraft procurement deals. Now, the electric-propulsion satellite model finds a new potential supporter in the European Space Agency (ESA) after it announced it would pursue a public-private partnership to develop and demonstrate all-electric propulsion on a commercial communications satellite in late November.
In that announcement, ESA member states agreed on a framework for a public-private partnership between ESA and industry on what is known as the Electra program, which aims to develop a telecommunications satellite bus with fully electric propulsion.
The public-private partnership would insert ESA financial support into the Electra program to reduce the financial risks taken by its potential contractors SES and OHB System. ESA said it would generate the financing through its Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems program that provides financial and technical support toward research, experimentation, and communications satellites incorporating innovative technologies.
“Electric propulsion will be a big step forward for the satellite business, by advancing miniaturization and reducing business risk,” ESA said in a statement.
OHB System has also been vocal about its support for electric-propulsion satellite models, noting that next-generation satellites with all-electric propulsion would not carry liquid propellant or conventional rocket jets, but rather, use ion thrusters fueled by xenon gas to reach operating posts in geostationary orbit.
ESA’s preferred all-electric satellite would be based on a new small geostationary satellite bus under development by OHB that is being developed under a separate public-private partnership. The first small GEO satellite is being built in partnership with Spanish operator Hispasat that will launch in late 2014 on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket.
As with Boeing’s 702-SP model, the electric-propulsion satellite does come with some disadvantages. It requires more time for orbit raising due to the ion thrusters, which are more efficient but generate much less thrust than conventional chemical propulsion engines. The ion-thrust communications satellites could take up to six months to reach geostationary orbit.
Boeing President of Network and Space Systems Roger Krone recently acknowledged as much in a recent interview with Satellite News, adding that the trade-off made sense for ABS and Satmex, which will each purchase two new Boeing 702-SP satellites that will be delivered in late 2014 or early 2015 and launched two at a time on commercially provided launch vehicles, including SpaceX’s Falcon 9 vehicles.
“The all-electric satellite gives us our customers the weight advantage, which we hope will allow them to reduce their launch costs,” said Krone. “I think [SES President and CEO] Romain Bausch explained it best when he said that electric propulsion makes sense for a customer who has very stable and predictable needs. If the money you save from the 702-SP’s low weight, electric propulsion and launch costs makes up for the extended time it takes to get to orbit, then it makes sense.”
According to Krone, the path to an electric propulsion satellite started in 2006, when Boeing made a conscious decision to establish a single satellite design center and operation, which Craig Cooning now manages in California.
“We wanted one center, not five,” said Krone. “We wanted one chief engineer as opposed to several engineering leaders spread out all over the United States. This consolidation gives us predictable performance and costing and enables us to accept fixed-price. That’s why we launched the all-electric satellite to fill out our product line. We can build for customers requesting a variety of sizes — from small nano-satellites all the way up to the big 702-HP.”
Krone also believes that there is a place for an all-electric satellite in the military satellite communications architecture, though he doesn’t think that all-electric will replace every military satellite. “There are a couple of places in the space and missile defense world where our 702-SP model makes a lot of sense,” he said. “There are certain orbital positions where all-electric makes a lot of sense. It all depends on the customer’s needs.”
The first two confirmed all-electric Boeing 702 satellites – Satmex 7 and ABS-3A – will launch together from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in late 2014 or early 2015.
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