Alphabus

Alphabus is a family of heavy geostationary communications satellite platforms developed by a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites in France, with support from the French space agency CNES and the European Space Agency. It is designed for payload power of 12 to 18 kilowatts and launch masses of 6 to 8 tonnes, with an extended range reaching 22 kilowatts and 9 tonnes. The structure is built around a central tube, as in the Spacebus design, with carbon and aluminium panels, and the product line offers chemical propulsion with an apogee engine and thrusters, as well as electric propulsion using xenon. The platform draws on lessons from the Spacebus and Eurostar families, which came from Thales Alenia Space and Astrium respectively. Its first use was Alphasat (Inmarsat 4A F4), ordered from EADS Astrium Satellites by Inmarsat and launched on 25 July 2013 from French Guiana.