Officials of ESA and CNES, the French space agency, agreed Thursday to cooperate on the development of Alphabus – Europe’s next-generation platform for telecommunication satellites.
The deal follows a contract signed last June between the two space agencies, plus EADS Astrium and Alcatel Space – which has since become Alcatel Alenia Space – to begin the Alphabus development program and produce a ready-for-flight model by 2009.
Under the agreement, CNES will manage development of the new platform line with ESA co-financing. In turn, ESA will be the first client for Alphabus, designed to handle telecom satellites with a power- consumption range between 12 kilowatts and 18 kilowatts.
Alphabus will be able to carry satellites with a lift-off mass between six and eight tons (5,400 kilograms and 7,200 kilograms) and will be mated to the Ariane 5 ECA launcher, or any new-generation commercial launcher with a fairing diameter of 5 meters (16 feet).
ESA will develop its new Alphasat in a parallel program, aiming at launching the first configuration in 2010.
