Europe Aims To Improve Competitiveness with New Satellite Bus

摘要

European Space Agency (ESA) governments have agreed to invest in advanced telecommunications satellite technologies to improve the competitiveness of European satellite prime contractors by offering higher power, greater room for antennas on a satellite platform, and better heat dissipation, ESA officials said. The Alphabus Extension program, being managed by ESA's Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Directorate, follows on from work done on the original Alphabus satellite platform, whose first model is scheduled for launch in 2012. This satellite, to be operated at 25 degrees east in geostationary orbit, is being used by Inmarsat of London for Inmarsat's mobile communications services in L-band.