Alphabus represents a major milestone in European aerospace engineering as a family of heavy geostationary communications satellites developed jointly by Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites in France. Backed by the Centre national d'etudes spatiales and the European Space Agency, the platform establishes a new benchmark for high-capacity space telecommunications.
Engineered to support payload power ranges between 12 and 18 kilowatts, the platform enables spacecraft with launch masses scaling from 6 to 8 tonnes. This delivers roughly 40 percent more capacity than previous heavy platforms, positioning it as an ideal solution for complex and demanding orbital communication missions.
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SubscribeFlexibility remains a core design tenet, featuring modular resources such as customizable solar arrays, advanced thermal radiators, and options for electric propulsion. The platform accommodates up to 190 high-power transponders and extensive antenna arrays, with extended-range variants capable of handling 22 kilowatts of payload power.
The successful launch of its inaugural iteration, Alphasat, in July 2013 from French Guiana demonstrated the platform's reliability in orbit. Carrying advanced technology demonstration payloads, the mission successfully validated cutting-edge communication and environmental testing systems in geostationary orbit.