Life marches on and today, once again, Arianespace was the scene of a launch that was delayed by a month due to political unrest. A celebration of sorts as Thales Alenia Space was able to enjoy the fruits of their labors with the successful launch of two satellites that they built.
KOREASAT-7 courtesy Thales Alenia Space
The SGDC and KOREASAT-7 telecommunications satellites, built by Thales Alenia Space for Brazil and South Korea respectively, were successfully orbited today by Arianespace in a dual launch using an Ariane 5 heavy launcher. SGDC is a dual (civil-military) satellite for the customer Visiona, a joint venture of aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Brazil’s telecommunications operator, Telebras. It will provide sovereign and safe means for the strategic communications of the government and the defense and reduce the digital divide in Brazil by giving Internet access to the whole country. This program reflects the close collaboration between Thales Alenia Space and Brazil, which includes the training of 30 Brazilian engineers in space industry techniques as well as the integration aboard the satellite of a structure panel made by the Brazilian company CENIC.
KOREASAT-7 was launched for the South Korean telecom/media service provider KT Sat. The satellite will provide Internet access, multimedia, broadcasting and fixed communications services for South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and India. The KOREASAT-5A satellite is now being integrated by Thales Alenia Space and will later join KTSAT’s fleet.
SGDC dual satellite for Visiona courtesy Thales Alenia space
“This dual launch reflects the excellent teamwork between Thales Alenia Space and our customers Visiona and KT SAT,” said Bertrand Maureau, Vice President, Telecommunications Business Line at Thales Alenia Space. “It also shows our ability to concurrently carry out launch campaigns for different customers, along with our wealth of services, the broad range of our telecom satellites, and our global business profile.”
Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67 percent) and Thales (33 percent), supported Thales Alenia Space throughout the installation, configuration and set-up of the SGDC 13-meters antennas for TT&C (Telemetry, Tracking and Control) activities and to provide the equipment of both SGDC control centers in Brasilia (main) and Rio de Janeiro (backup). Telespazio's Fucino Space Center, in co-operation with the Thales Alenia Space teams in Cannes, will manage the activities to put both satellites, SGDC and KOREASAT-7, into orbit.