The Small GEO Programme is aimed at the development of a general-purpose small Geostationary satellite platform, which will enable European players to compete effectively in the commercial telecom market for small platforms.
To achieve this, the European Space Agency has established an element in its ARTES Programme (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems). This element, called ARTES 11, is divided into two parts.
The first part involves the development of a platform supporting a payload mass of up to 300 kg, payload power of up to 3 kW and a lifetime of up to 15 years.
The second part, subject to the PATP signed, involves the development and launch of a Small Geostationary Satellite and associated mission to provide flight qualification and in orbit demonstration for the platform.
A consortium led by the German company OHB-System AG has been working on the development of the Small Geostationary Platform since March 2007. The core team of companies that jointly develops and later on commercializes the platform includes, besides OHB-System AG and its Luxembourgish subsidiary LuxSpace, Swedish Space Corporation, Carlo Gavazzi Space (Italy) and Oerlikon (Switzerland). The platform development is proceeding according to plan. The definition phase has been completed and the detailed design, manufacturing and testing of the Platform is about to start. To this end, the selection of the equipment suppliers for the main platform elements has been completed.
The selection of Hispasat for the Small GEO mission was made through an open Call for Interest issued by ESA in June 2007. Following the selection, a Request For Quotation (RFQ) was issued by ESA to Hispasat in August 2007. The mission proposal was eventually positively evaluated at the end of 2007.
The resulting satellite, Hispasat AG1, will serve as an important and distinctive asset in Hispasat’s satellite fleet with:
- A communication capacity of up to 24 transponders in Ku-band and 3 transponders in Ka band.
- A highly innovative payload, REDSAT, led by Spanish industry. The REDSAT payload includes an active Direct Radiating Array (DRA) antenna providing 4 reconfigurable uplink beams in Ku-band and an advanced On-Board Processor providing 4 regenerative channels of 36 MHz.
Hispasat, the leading operator for the Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets, will be in position to push European innovative technologies to the telecommunication satellite commercial arena leading to the exploitation of enhanced services.
To develop the mission, Hispasat has built the necessary industrial team to implement all the program elements. OHB System AG will act as Satellite Prime. TESAT GmbH will be the Payload Prime and will be responsible for the integration of the Transparent Repeater (produced by TESAT) and the REDSAT payload. The development of the REDSAT payload will be led by Thales Alenia Space-España, who will coordinate a group of mainly Spanish companies. Thales Alenia Space-España is responsible for the On-Board Processor and EADS CASA is responsible for the Reflector and DRA Antennas.
