SPAINSAT NG Programme Successfully Passes PDR

The SPAINSAT NG programme, owned and operated by Hisdesat, has successfully passed the preliminary design review (PDR) of the payloads and the full satellite, including PDR of Pacis 3 elements. SPAINSAT NG is being manufactured by a consortium of four co-primes from Airbus in Spain and France, and Thales Alenia Space in Spain and France.  

This important milestone confirms the soundness of the preliminary design and technical capabilities of the SPAINSAT NG satellite system.

It was achieved in the expected timeframe despite the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 health crisis, thanks to the commitment of all project teams who have continued to work at full capacity, combining remote work with face-to-face activity in the workplace.

“Successfully passing the satellite and payloads PDR, including Pacis 3, in the planned schedule shows the outstanding commitment and performances of all the teams working in this challenging program. I really much appreciate the efforts of anyone, from our main end customer and partner in the SPAINSAT NG PPP the Spanish Ministry of Defense and the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism as lender of the program, till CDTI, ESA, Hisdesat, Airbus DS, Thales Alenia Space and the rest of the industry working in the program”, said Miguel A. García Primo, Hisdesat CEO.

The SPAINSAT NG programme comprises two satellites, SPAINSAT NG I and II which will be situated in different geostationary positions to operate in X, military Ka and UHF bands.

The communication payloads of both satellites are provided by Spanish industry, including integration of the Communications Module in Spain, a major step forward for Spanish industry. Airbus in Spain is responsible for the X band payload, while Thales Alenia Space in Spain is responsible for the UHF and Ka band payloads. Other companies from Spanish space industry are also involved. The UHF payload is a new development in Spain, positioning the country at the forefront of the few countries in the world with national systems in the military UHF band.

The satellites are based on the Eurostar Neo platform, Airbus’ new geostationary telecommunications satellite product, a significant evolution of the highly reliable and successful Eurostar series with an entire range of major innovations. SPAINSAT NG includes an X band fully flexible payload, employing active antennas with in orbit reconfiguration capability, an onboarddigital processor that will interconnect the X and Ka band payloads for cross-banding, and a dedicated high speed service link enabling fast re-configuration.

“The successful PDR is an important milestone for the development of the SPAINSAT NG programme, which is on-track and on-schedule thanks to the huge professionalism and commitment of the project team,” said Eduardo Bellido, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in Spain. “For the first time we lead in Spain the development and integration of the payloads for a programme like SPAINSAT NG, which positions us at the forefront of space technology with the capacity to integrate large space systems. This will allow us to take the lead of new payloads and instruments in future missions.”
 
“Spain has always been at the centre of Airbus’ space activities. This milestone represents an extraordinary achievement as it clearly validates we have succeeded in further developing our expertise and capabilities on new technologies,” said Fernando Varela, Head of Airbus Space in Spain. “We are now ready for the next stage and on track with the integration of the communication modules in our clean rooms.”

The development of SPAINSAT NG is supported by the Spanish Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) in the framework of a Partnership Project (PP) between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the satellite operator Hisdesat, called Pacis 3.

ESA Partnership Project supports the development and integration of innovative satellite payload elements, such as the reconfigurable transmit and receive X-band active antennas, and the deployable pallet with individually steerable Ka-band antennas. The Partnership Project will de-risk the partner’s investments to answer market needs through the development of sustainable end-to-end system up to in-orbit validation. It will also demonstrate novel pooling and sharing concepts to ultimately provide more affordable, flexible and secure communications services for governmental users in Europe.

“The Pacis 3 Partnership Project with Hisdesat is an important step within the Govsatcom Precursor project, part of ESA’s Space Systems for Safety and Security Program” stated Elodie Viau, ESA’s Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications. “Pacis 3 shows how the European space industry can respond to a globally emerging market of secure satellite communications. Partnership Projects, provide an effective and collaborative environment to introduce innovative systems and services, up to in-orbit validation.”

New AIT facility
The construction of a new clean room in Thales Alenia Space site in Madrid is progressing on-schedule to be ready for the SPAINSAT NG payload assembly, integration and test activities. This unique, cutting-edge facility in Spain will add more than 600 m2 clean area to the existing 2000 m2. With a free height of 12.5 meters in the inside, the facility is equipped with bridge cranes with lifting capacity up to 12 tons each, prepared for the integration of payloads and instruments of large dimensions for all type of space missions, spanning telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation and science.

The first of these New Generation SPAINSAT satellites will be launched at the end of 2023 and the second one a year later, guaranteeing the continuity of secure communications services.

The SPAINSAT NG satellites will have an operational lifetime of 15 years, remaining in service up to 2039.