Astrium: prime contractor for all phases of the 51st Ariane 5 Launch

For its upcoming launch, Ariane 5 will deliver in orbit two Astrium-built satellites: the Arabsat 5A communications satellite for Arabsat and the COMS satellite for the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The Astrium teams on site at the Guiana Space Centre are busy with final preparations for the scheduled launch of the two satellites on 23 June 2010.

 

The COMS (Communications, Oceanography and Meteorology Satellite) observation satellite is familiarly known as the "Swiss army knife" because it carries three payloads destined for applications in the fields of meteorology, ocean observation (with 400m resolution) and telecommunications. It is the first geostationary Earth observation satellite with 3-axis stabilisation to be developed and built by a European company.
 

COMS will provide South Korea with a meteorology imager, an 'ocean colour' payload and a Ka-band telecommunications payload.

 

Arabsat 5A is the fifth Eurostar satellite built by Astrium for Arabsat. The multi-mission satellite will provide additional transmission capacity at the Arabsat 30.5 East position in both C-band and Ku-band for a wide range of satellite communications services.

 

Arabsat 5A is based on the Eurostar E3000 platform and is equipped with a payload that includes 26 active transponders operating in the C-band and another 24 in the Ku-band. The satellite has 12 kW of onboard power and is designed for a service life of 15 years.

Astrium and Thales Alenia Space are acting as co-prime contractors for the satellite's construction and delivery into orbit. Astrium, the team leader, supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and is responsible for satellite integration with the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space supplied the communications payload.