14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, November 26, the Hylas-1 telecommunications satellite was successfully launched from the Kourou Spaceport, in French Guyana, South America, aboard an Ariane 5 heavy-lift delivery system.
The launch represents the first time a spacecraft takes off under a public–private partnership, such as the one the European Space Agency (ESA) signed with UK-based Avanti Communications plc., the operator of the satellite.
Hylas-1 was launched together with a smaller spacecraft, called Intelsat 17, at 15:39 local time (18:39 GMT, 19:39 CET), aboard Ariane 5 V198, the 54th delivery system of this class. The rocket is produced by European company Arianespace.
“ESA’s cooperation with Avanti Communications on Hylas-1 is a prime example of a public–private partnership, a creative fast-track for demonstrating and reaping the benefits of satellite high technology as part of an operational mission,” said Magali Vaissiere.
The official is the ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications. The broadband communication satellites were developed by EADS Astrium under the ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems (ARTES) program framework.
Several innovations in the field of communications have been obtained under this research initiative, and some of them have been put to work on Hylas-1 for the first time ever.
But the most outstanding element is the highly adaptable payload it carries, which is based on a new and flexible technology. The spacecraft can change its data throughput over Europe in tune with demands coming from the surface.
Hylas-1 stands for Highly Adaptable Satellite. Its main mission will be to provide customers with innovative services including High Definition Television (HDTV) and interactive satellite-delivered broadband programs.
The spacecraft made its way to the French Guyana aboard a massive Antonov An-124 cargo jetliner, and it arrived in the evening of Monday, October 11.
After being unloaded from the airplane, the boxed satellite was transported by road to the S1B satellite preparation facility, which is a clean room at the ESA spaceport. There, it underwent a series of tests in preparation for the flight.
“While its payload has been developed in Europe, Hylas-1’s flight-proven I-2K satellite platform was procured by prime contractor EADS Astrium from Antrix Corporation in India, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO),” ESA says in a statement,
“This is the first spacecraft to have been developed through a public-private partnership between ESA and a commercial satellite operator. Avanti Communications of London will own and operate the satellite from its geostationary orbital location of 33.5° West,” the document adds.