Luxembourg's Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) has awarded Aerospatiale a contract to build the world's largest commercial communications satellite, the Astra 1K.
The 5,000kg Astra 1K, which will be launched on an Ariane or Proton booster in 2000, will be a Spacebus 3000B3S spacecraft bus, equipped with nine Alcatel antenna reflectors and 52 high power Ku-band and two Ka-band transponders, also from Alcatel.
The Astra 1K satellite beats the Hughes HS-702 spacecraft bus, which will weigh 4,600kg when it is used for the planned Galaxy 11, 13 and 14. The Astra 1K satellite, the eleventh to be built for SES and the first to be constructed by Aerospatiale, will generate 13kW of electricity. SES has yet to decide whether to use a Xenon plasma ion generator for orbital stationkeeping in its 19.2¹E location in geostationary orbit.
The plasma thrusters would provide a 16-year lifetime for the satellite.
SES will use the Astra 1K for three missions: to replace the Astra 1B and provide back-up capacity for other craft; to allow additional transmission and expanded coverage of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as part of the CIS, with frequency re-use; and to provide back-up Ka-band services for the Astra 1H and enhance flexible bandwidth services.
Aerospatiale has also won an order from Eurasiasat - a joint subsidiary of Turk Telecom, which has a 51% holding, and Aerospatiale, with a 49% share - to build the first second generation Turksat 2A. The craft, which will be known as the Eurasiasat 1, is also based on a Spacebus 3000 platform weighing about 3,400kg.
The Eurasiasat 1 will generate 9kW of power and be equipped with 32 Ku-band transponders. The company built and launched two Turksat 1s in 1994 and 1996 and constructed two ground stations near Ankara.o
Source: Flight International