Paris (AFP)
The Quantum satellite, the first "flexible" commercial satellite which can be reprogrammed in orbit, will be launched on July 27 from Kourou (French Guiana) by an Ariane 5 rocket, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday.
Once placed in geostationary orbit (approximately 35,000 km from Earth), this satellite operated by Eutelsat will offer the capacity to be completely reconfigured from the ground, over a lifespan of 15 years.
Parameterization software will make it "the first satellite to be able to adapt to customer needs at any time and serve any region of the world," ESA said in a statement.
"Rather than carrying out a fixed beam transmission, Quantum will allow users to decide on the orientation of their beams", details the public agency (22 Member States).
On board, a new so-called "phase-controlled" network antenna will make it capable of changing geographical area in real time, to provide a particular region of the world with telecommunications, or of moving virtually to follow planes or aircraft. ships.
The reconfiguration between two missions will only take "a few minutes", detailed Frédéric Piro, Eutelsat Quantum program director, during a press briefing.
Eutelsat did not specify who would be Quantum's first customers.
The satellite, which weighs 3.5 tonnes, was developed in a partnership between ESA and Eutelsat, started in 2015.
It was built by Airbus Defense System, prime contractor, and the British Surrey Satellite Technology, supplier of the platform.
Its overall budget amounts to more than 200 million euros, including nearly 80 million euros invested by ESA.
"We are looking for flexibility because when a satellite is launched, demand and markets can vary over time. A satellite that is not + frozen + and can adapt to customers allows for a more robust perspective." , detailed to AFP Elodie Viau, director of telecommunications and applications at ESA.
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