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43-581: The Alphabus platform is designed for communications satellites with payload power in the range 12-18 kW. Satellites based on Alphabus will have a launch mass in the range 6 to 8 tonnes, 40% more than the most powerful Spacebus 4000. In order to cover the mission range in an optimised way, the platform product line includes several options such as electric propulsion, and features scalable resources (solar array, radiators for thermal dissipation, etc.). The platform will be able to accommodate up to 190 high power transponders and large antenna farms, and will have

86-666: A Scandinavian company that later became SES Sirius , ordered Sirius 2 , a replacement for the Spacebus 300-based TeleX satellite. Spanish satellite operator Hispasat ordered two satellites, and Arabsat ordered one satellite, Arabsat-3A . The final two were ordered by the German Bundeswehr and were launched on 1 October 2009, and in May 2010, respectively. Nine B3 satellites were ordered, three for Eutelsat, two for Star One of Brazil, GE-12 for GE Americom, Turksat 2A for Turksat, and

129-547: A Spacebus, the second one is based on an Express-2000 platform. The Spacebus 4000C4 bus is 5.5 metres (18 ft) high and can generate 16 kilowatts of power with its solar panels. Four have been ordered so far: Ciel 2 for Ciel Satellite of Canada, which was launched on 10 December 2008, and three spacecraft for Eutelsat, W2A , W7 , launched by Proton on 23 November 2009. and Eutelsat-8 West B, ordered on 11 October 2012. On 6 December 2007, Thales Alenia Space signed an agreement with NPO PM of Russia to jointly develop

172-435: A carrier rocket, and other critical systems. External panels contain equipment such as solar panels, payload, and engine. The payload, developed separately from the bus, takes up three panels. Once it has been outfitted with transponders or other equipment, it is transported to Cannes-Mandelieu, where it is integrated onto the bus. The satellites are powered by rigid solar panels . Several configurations are used depending on

215-530: A contract to EADS Astrium Satellites for a first use of such a platform. The satellite is named Alphasat (Inmarsat 4A F4), and will augment Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service supporting a new generation of mobile technologies and enable communications across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Alphasat was partially funded by ESA and UK Regional Development Agencies. As well as its primary objective of providing in orbit validation of

258-500: A lifespan of 15 years, as the first satellite of the third generation, on 26 February 1999 at 22:44:00 UTC. Half of its 20 transponders K u were switched off on 7 December 2001 after a solar-panel malfunction. Arabsat let a contract on 22 October 2003 for the manufacture and launch of the fourth generation of Arabsat satellites, based on the Astrium's Eurostar E2000+ platform and Alcatel Space payload. The first of these, Arabsat-4A ,

301-663: A number of satellites, including Symphonie , with the German company Messerschmitt . On 9 December 1983, the two companies signed the Franco-German Spacebus Agreement . The Spacebus designation was first applied to satellites which were under construction by Aérospatiale when the programme started. These included three satellites for Arabsat , which became the Spacebus 100 series, and five further satellites: two for Deutsche Bundespost , two for TéléDiffusion de France , and

344-423: A payload which is customisable according to the customer's requirements. The bus was designed to be adaptable to perform various missions; however, as of 2009, only communications satellites have been ordered. It was also designed to be adaptable when the capacity of launch systems increased. The bus is made of carbon fibre with a composite honeycomb structure. It contains fuel tanks, equipment to interface with

387-783: A reserve satellite. Five direct-to-home television satellites were built using the Spacebus 300 bus, which provided 4.3 kilowatts (5.8 hp) of power. The Spacebus 2000 series was developed to use additional capacity provided by the Ariane 4. Its solar panels generated 3.5 kilowatts (4.7 hp). The Spacebus 3000 was introduced around the time the Ariane 5 entered service. Spacebus 3000 satellites have masses from 2 to 6 tonnes (2.0 to 5.9 long tons; 2.2 to 6.6 short tons) and produce between 5 and 16 kW. Increasingly larger payload fairings allowed larger spacecraft to be produced. In 1991, Aérospatiale , Alenia and Space Systems/Loral joined to form

430-569: A satellite network, to create an integration of social and cultural activities among the Arab League countries. On the other hand, the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) was established in 1969. Saudi Arabia did not join this Egypt-led and Cairo-based union until 1974, most probably due to the tense relationship between Saudi Arabia and Egypt at the time. On 14 April 1976, Arabsat was formed under Arab League jurisdiction with

473-405: A series of geostationary communications satellites launched from 1985 through 2019. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired and are derelict . The foundation of Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) dates from the late 1960s. In 1967, information ministers of Arab states developed a series of principles in relation to

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516-442: A significant growth potential (22 kW payload power and 9 tonnes launch mass for the extended range). Development of the new satellite, made in cooperation between the two large European satellite manufacturers, take into account the best lessons learned from previous incarnations of similar satellites: the Spacebus and Eurostar families, respectively from Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites . Inmarsat awarded

559-528: A solar panel extension malfunction. Coupled with other failures, the satellite was soon relegated to backup status until it was abandoned completely in late 1991. Arabsat-1B , the second flight model, was deployed in June 1985, from the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-51-G , and placed into service near 26.0° east, and remained in operation until mid-1992. Arabsat-1C , the third satellite of

602-600: A state-owned company ordered two satellites, whilst the APT Satellite ordered three. All were launched by Long March 3B rockets from Launch Area 2 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre . Eight Spacebus 4000C3 satellites, each of which has a height of 5.1 metres (17 ft) and generates 13 kilowatts of power, have been ordered. SES Americom and Eutelsat ordered two spacecraft each. The Eutelsat spacecraft are being built using ITAR-free parts, and one of

645-560: Is Koreasat 5 for Korea Telecom of South Korea . It was launched by a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL from the Ocean Odyssey platform on the equator, at 03:27 GMT on 22 August 2006. The Spacebus 4000C2, which has a height of 4.5 metres (15 ft), generates 10.5 kilowatts of power. Five have been ordered, all using the ITAR-free option, by companies in the People's Republic of China . Chinasat ,

688-575: Is a communications satellite operator in the Arab World , headquartered in the city of Riyadh , Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public and private telecommunications services to the Arab States, in accordance with International Standards. With 21 member countries, the organization plays a vital role of enhancing communications in the Arab World. The Arabsat satellites are

731-475: Is now undergoing on-orbit testing upon its arrival at 113° East about mid-September, where it will be used to provide communications to Asia and Australia. It has enough fuel for 10 years of service, according to Reynald Seznec , President of Thales Alenia Space, instead of the planned 15 years due to the orbit-raising maneuvers. The first Rascom satellite, Rascom-QAF1 , suffered a propulsion system failure during its first apogee manoeuvre on 21 December 2007. It

774-409: Is propellant. It has an onboard low-thrust motor that utilizes hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, and transfers from an initial elliptical to geosynchronous orbit by firing this motor. The remaining propellant is then used for station-keeping or moving over the life of the satellite. Arabsat-1A , the first Arabsat satellite, was launched by Ariane on 8 February 1985. Shortly after launch it suffered

817-550: Is used for attitude control. Spacebus satellites are compatible with a large number of carrier rockets, particularly the Ariane family. As the Ariane's performance has increased, the satellites' capacities have increased accordingly. Three Spacebus 100 satellites were produced for Arabsat to serve the 22 members of the Arab League . One of the solar panels on the first satellite, Arabsat-1A , failed to deploy, resulting in reduced power. This, combined with gyroscope issues, caused it to spend most of its operational lifespan as

860-516: The Stentor experimental communications satellite for CNES . Stentor was lost in a launch failure on the maiden flight of the Ariane 5ECA . Galaxy 17 was successfully launched in 2007 for Intelsat. The Spacebus 4000 series was derived from the 3000 series but featured upgraded avionics . The voltage of the electrical system was increased from 50 volts to 100 volts, and an integrated onboard computer, designed to be more flexible than previous versions,

903-492: The Swedish Space Corporation 's Tele-X , which became the Spacebus 300 series. Later series' names were followed by a number indicating the approximate mass of the bus in kilograms. Spacebus designations were not retroactively applied to previously launched satellites. Spacebus satellites consist of a satellite bus, which provides power, propulsion, and other subsystems necessary for the satellite's operation, and

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946-475: The 1980s. Spacebus was originally produced by Aérospatiale and later passed to Alcatel Alenia Space . In 2006, it was sold to Thales Group as Thales Alenia Space. The first Spacebus satellite, Arabsat-1A , was launched in 1985. Since then, seventy-four have been launched, with one more completed, and six outstanding orders. The launch of the 50th Spacebus satellite, Star One C1 , occurred in November 2007. It

989-597: The Alphabus platform, Alphasat also carries four technology demonstration payloads (TDPs): The first service module of the new Alphabus completed its first journey at the end of January 2010 – from Cannes to Toulouse , in France . The three-day trip used an exceptional convoy made up of a 20 m-long lorry carrying the satellite container, several escort cars and a police escort to close off streets and redirect traffic as they passed through urban areas. Alphasat (Inmarsat 4A F4)

1032-736: The Ekspress-4000 bus, based on the Spacebus 4000. The Ekspress-4000 is designed for direct injection into geostationary orbit by a Proton-M rocket. In 2014, Thales Alenia Space started the development of a new family - Spacebus NEO. These new platforms will be available in various propulsion versions, including an all-electric one. The all-electric Spacebus NEO, capable of carrying payloads weighing over 1,400 kg, and with power exceeding 16 kW, will be available starting in mid-2015. Download coordinates as: Arab Satellite Communications Organization The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (often abbreviated as Arabsat )

1075-563: The French Délégation Générale pour l'Armement and two for RascomStar-QAF . The fifth, Palapa D1 for Indosat , uses the ITAR-free configuration, and was launched by a Long March 3B in September 2009, but was initially placed in a low orbit. Thales Alenia Space made corrections allowing the satellite to reach the planned geostationary transfer orbit on 3 September. It finally reached geostationary orbit on 9 September. It

1118-607: The French and Italian space agencies CNES and ASI , and Sicral-2 for the Italian Ministry of Defence and the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), a contract worth about €295m in total, Koreasat-5A and Koreasat-7 for KTSAT and Telkom-3S for PT Telkom Indonesia. Spacebus 4000B3 satellites are 3.7 metres (12 ft) in height and generate 8.5 kilowatts of power. So far, five have been ordered, including two for

1161-643: The Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe. It is expected to replace most of the existing C and Ku-band capacity at 30.5 East that is provided by Arabsat 5A and is approaching end-of-life. Arabsat 7B (Badr 8) launched on a Falcon 9 on May 27, 2023. In July 2019, some of the biggest football authorities that control the Premier League , World Cup and Champions League, called on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stop its homegrown piracy of TV and streaming service, illicitly broadcasting matches globally via Arabsat. Saudi

1204-560: The Satellite Alliance. The first version of the Spacebus 3000 was the Spacebus 3000A, originally developed for Arabsat. They were also ordered by Shin Satellite of Thailand and China's Sino Satellite Communications Company . Twelve 3000B2 satellites were ordered, five of them by Eutelsat for their W Series , one of which later became Eutelsat 28A . A sixth order from Eutelsat was for Eutelsat 8 West A . Nordic Satellite AB ,

1247-637: The amount of power the satellite requires. Batteries to store this power are produced by the Belgian company ETCA . Early satellites used nickel-hydrogen batteries , while later spacecraft use lithium-ion batteries . Spacebus satellites use bipropellant, liquid-fuelled chemical engines to achieve orbit and subsequently perform station-keeping . Electric propulsion was used on the Stentor and Astra 1K satellites, both of which were subsequently involved in launch failures. Spacebus Neo will be an electric propulsion satellite. A three-axis stabilisation system

1290-452: The fifth generation of Arabsat satellites, based on the Astrium's Eurostar E3000 platform and Thales Alenia Space payloads: Arabsat signed a contract on 29 April 2022 with Europe’s Thales Alenia Space , which will build the Arabsat 7A satellite based on its Space Inspire platform. The satellite is Arabsat's first fully software-defined geostationary satellite and will provide coverage across

1333-614: The goal of serving the information, cultural and educational needs of its member states. Saudi Arabia was the main financier of the new organization due to its expanded financial resources as a result of its flourishing oil-exporting industry. Riyadh housed Arabsat's headquarters. The first launch Arabsat-1A was performed by a French Ariane rocket. The American Space Shuttle Discovery launched Arabsat's second satellite, Arabsat-1B , in 1985. Arabsat-1A and -1B were switched off in 1992 and 1993, respectively. All Arab League states except for Comoros are shareholders of Arabsat: Arabsat-1

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1376-495: The position 13.0° E during November 2002 to a position at 26.0° E. On 7 November 1996, a contract was signed with Aérospatiale (Alcatel) to provide the first of the third-generation satellites, to be based on a Spacebus 3000B2 platform. Badr-3 (technically: Arabsat-3A), weighed 2,708 kilograms (5,970 lb) (at launch) and 1,646 kilograms (3,629 lb) (in orbit), was launched by a launcher Ariane-44L (# 28) (V-116) from ELA-2 at Centre Spatial Guyanais at 26.0° East with

1419-535: The satellites, Eutelsat W3B launched on an Ariane 5 on 2010-10-28 and was declared lost on 2010-10-30 due to a fuel leak. Eutelsat 21B was ordered by 9 June 2010.; and launched 10 November 2012; Eutelsat W3D ordered on 3 December 2010;, launched 2013-05-14; Russian satellite operator Gazprom also ordered two satellites for its Yamal (satellite constellation) programme —the first time it had procured Yamal spacecraft that were not manufactured in Russia. Only one will be

1462-490: The series, was launched by Ariane on 26 February 1992, as a stop-gap measure to maintain network services until the Arabsat second generation spacecraft became available. Arabsat-1D , was renamed from the Anik-D2 (a Hughes HS-376 bus originally carrying 24 active C-band transponders). By the end of 1994, the Arabsat system had been reduced to only one operational satellite. A contract for two Arabsat second-generation satellites

1505-458: The strongest possible terms the ongoing theft of our intellectual property by the pirate broadcaster known as beoutQ and call on the authorities in Saudi Arabia to support us in ending the widespread and flagrant breaches of our intellectual property rights". The sporting bodies have also accused nine Saudi Arabian legal firms of not taking on their copyright infringement case, following which

1548-532: Was a Spacebus 3000B3, launched by an Ariane 5 rocket flying from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou , French Guiana. Several variants have been built: the early Spacebus 100 and Spacebus 300 ; followed by the Spacebus 2000 , optimised for launch on the Ariane 4 carrier rocket; and the subsequent modular Spacebus 3000 and 4000 series, designed for use with the Ariane 5 rocket. Aérospatiale had produced

1591-544: Was added. It was also the first satellite bus to be equipped with an attitude and orbit control system with star trackers designed for use in geostationary orbit. The B series used the same basic structure as the 3000 series. The C version had a base measuring 2.2 by 2.0 metres (7.2 ft × 6.6 ft). Eight Spacebus 4000B2 satellites have been ordered: Bangabandhu-1 for Bangabandhu-1 of Bangladesh , Turksat 3A for Turksat, Thor 6 for Telenor of Norway, Nilesat 201 for Nilesat of Egypt , Athena-Fidus for

1634-535: Was confirmed to have reached its final geostationary orbit at a longitude of 2.85° east on 4 February 2008, but with only two years of expected operational life, compared to the fifteen expected prior to launch. On 9 September 2008, the Rascom-QAF1R satellite was ordered to replace it, also based on the 4000B3 bus. The Spacebus 4000C1 has a height of 4 metres (13 ft), and is capable of generating 8.5 kilowatts of electricity. The only C1 to have been ordered so far

1677-620: Was launched on 25 July 2013 from French Guiana by early August it had reached a holding position in geostationary orbit and had successfully deployed its solar arrays and 11-metre L-band AstroMesh reflector. Spacebus Spacebus is a satellite bus produced at the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center in France by Thales Alenia Space . Spacebuses are typically used for geostationary communications satellites , and seventy-four have been launched since development started in

1720-405: Was lost in space due to a launcher failure . This led to the ordering of Badr-6 (technically: Arabsat-4AR) on 31 May 2006. The second fourth generation satellite, named Badr-4 (technically: Arabsat-4B), was launched on 8 November 2006. BADR-6 was launched on 7 July 2008 on an Ariane 5 , to replace the lost Arabsat-4A. Arabsat let a contract on 16 June 2007 for the manufacture and launch of

1763-518: Was signed with Aérospatiale in April 1993, to build several additional comsats based on the Spacebus 3000A platform. Arabsat-2A , was launched on 9 July 1996. Arabsat-2B , was launched on 13 November 1996. Arabsat-2C was leased from PAS-5 in May 2002 and moved from the Western Hemisphere during November 2002 to a position at 26.0° E. Arabsat-2D was leased from Hot Bird 5 and moved from

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1806-503: Was strongly criticized in a letter issued by sports bodies including, FIFA , UEFA , Spain's La Liga , Germany's Bundesliga and Italy's Serie A along with the Asian Football Confederation . The letter was issued after 18 months of failed efforts at legally challenging Saudi Arabia to block beoutQ for pirate broadcasting the entire World Cup 2018 . The authorities said in a joint statement, "We collectively condemn in

1849-462: Was the model designator for a series of first-generation satellites built by an international team led by Aérospatiale of France. It is a satellite with three-axis stabilized Spacebus 100 spacecraft with two deployable solar array wings, making it almost 68 ft (21 m) long and over 18 ft (5.5 m) wide when deployed in orbit. It weighs about 2,800 lb (1,300 kg) in its initial orbit, but some 1,490 lb (680 kg) of this

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