[SatNews] The Athena-Fidus broadband telecommunications satellite, a joint French-Italian program, arrived at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on December 9th.

The Athena-Fidus broadband telecommunications satellite.
Photo courtesy of Thales Alenia Space.

Thales Alenia Space is program prime contractor on behalf of the French and Italian space agencies, CNES and ASI, as well as the French (DGA) and Italian (Segredifesa) defense ministries, respectively with responsibility for the development, construction, testing and in-orbit delivery of the satellite. Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, is involved in the ground segment part of this project, contributing its expertise in areas involving the launch and subsequent orbital positioning of the satellite.