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Paris, France (SPX) Mar 17, 2006 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. Related Links Alphabus CNES EADS Astrium Alcatel Space
![]() ![]() The newspaper industry needs to embrace the technological revolution of the Internet, MP3 players, laptops and mobile phones or face extinction, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch said here Monday. "Societies or companies that expect a glorious past to shield them from the forces of change driven by advancing technology will fail and fall," he said in a speech to the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers. |
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