The Astrium + Thales Aelenia Space-built Arabsat 5C satellite
The Arabsat 5C satellite built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space has left the Astrium facilities in Toulouse, France, and was transported by air to Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for its launch by an Ariane 5 vehicle in September 2011. Astrium and Thales Alenia Space are jointly responsible for building the satellite and delivering it in orbit. Astrium, the leading partner, supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and assembled and tested the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space designed and built the communications payload featuring 26 active channels in C-band and wide band transponders over 10 spots in Ka-band. The team also upgraded the ground control segment for the extended Arabsat satellite fleet. The Launch and Early Orbit Phase will be conducted from the Astrium spacecraft control centre in Toulouse. Arabsat 5C has a launch mass of 4630 kg and a spacecraft power of 10kW at the end of its 15-year designed lifetime. Arabsat 5C, a multi-mission satellite, will provide satellite capacity in both C- and Ka-band frequencies at the Arabsat position 20 degrees East for a wide range of satellite communications services.