Please make a donation to support Gunter's Space Page.
Thank you very much for visiting Gunter's Space Page. I hope that this site is useful and informative for you.
If you appreciate the information provided on this site, please consider supporting my work by making a simple and secure donation via PayPal. Please help to run the website and keep everything free of charge. Thank you very much.

Alcatel Space → Alcatel Alenia Space → Thales Alenia Space: Spacebus-3000/4000 C-Class

APStar 6 (Spacebus-4000C2) [Alcatel]

AMC 12 (Spacebus-4000C3) [Alcatel]

Ciel 2 (Spacebus-4000C4) [Alcatel]

The Spacebus C-Class satellite busses are an enlarged version of the Spacebus-3000/4000 B-Class versions. The Spacebus 4000 is a medium-class telecommunications satellite (launch mass from 3000 kg for the B3 version to 5900 kg for the C4 version) with a strong successful flight heritage and proposed with a realistic and safe manufacturing schedule. It can easily accommodate a large range of payloads in every band (Ku, C, Ka, X, S, L) to satisfy customer needs.

The Spacebus 4000 expands the Thales Alenia Space portfolio of solutions to meet all the demands of its customers. Spacebus 4000 can support satellites weighing up to six metric tons and delivering 16 kW of power with 120 onboard transponders. At the same time, they need more flexible satellites able to fulfill a variety of missions. To guarantee compatibility with high-power performance, Thales Alenia Space has also developed the new generation Avionics 4000 based on a 100 Volt power bus. Flexible, modular and fully integrated with a central onboard computer, it is a world's first to launch an AOCS (Attitude and Orbit Control System) with a built-in star tracker for use in Geostationary Earth Orbit. The Spacebus 4000 is designed to accommodate the communications services of tomorrow, such as High Definition TV and broadband multimedia.

Key Features

  • Telecommunications satellite; launch mass from 3000 to 5900 kg; Solar Array power up to 15,8 kW
  • Payload power up to 11,6 kW, typically 80 to 100 active channels with medium RF power (105/110W in Ku band); standard equipment and system designs available in Ku/C and Ka frequency bands; other frequency bands (X, S, L) can be proposed
  • Realistic and safe manufacturing schedule (typically 27 à 33 months on ground delivery); attractive price
  • Accommodation antenna (from 2.4 m to 3.2 × 2.4 m); Flight proven units (payload and platform)
  • Design, manufacturer and test with an experienced teams for system and equipment management
  • Launch capability demonstrated with all available launchers
  • Avionics 4000: 100V bus

Reliability

Following failures of Spacebus-3000/4000 C-class models have occured:

  • Eutelsat W3B developed a sizeable leak in the oxidizer tank directly after launch and was declared a total loss.
Satellite Ordered Date Launcher Weight (kg) Remarks
Launch BOL
Spacebus-3000B3S
Astra 1K 1997 25.11.2002 P Proton-K Blok-DM3 5250 Launch failure
Spacebus-4000C1
Koreasat 5 (Mugunghwa 5) 2003 22.08.2006 Zenit-3SL (2) 4465
Spacebus-4000C2
APStar 6 (ex APStar 5B) 2001 12.04.2005 CZ-3B 4680
APStar 7 2009 31.03.2012 CZ-3B/G2 5054
TürkmenÄlem 52E/MonacoSat 2011 27.04.2015 Falcon-9 v1.1(ex) 4707
ZX 6B (ChinaSat 6B) 2005 05.07.2007 CZ-3B 4500
ZX 9 (ChinaSat 9) 2004 09.06.2008 CZ-3B 4500
ZX 12 / APStar 7B (ChinaSat 12, SupremeSat 1) → ZX 15A (ex APStar 7B) 2010 27.11.2012 CZ-3B/G2
Spacebus-4000C3
AMC 12 (Astra 4A, Star One C12) → NSS 10 (ex Worldsat 2 ex AMC 12 ex GE 1i) 2000 03.02.2005 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.1) 4979
AMC 23 → GE 23 → Eutelsat 172A → Eutelsat 174A (ex Worldsat 3 ex AMC 13 ex GE 2i) 2000, 2004 29.12.2005 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.1) 4981
AMC 14 (ex GE 2E?) 2001 cancelled
AMC 22 (ex GE 3i) 2000 cancelled 4979
AMC 23 (ex GE 4i) 2000, 2002 cancelled 4850
EuropaSat 1 2008 cancelled Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) 5700
Eutelsat 3D → Eutelsat 7B (ex Eutelsat 7B ex Eutelsat W3D) 2010 14.05.2013 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) 5470
Eutelsat 8 West B 2012 20.08.2015 Ariane-5ECA 5782
Eutelsat 21B (ex Eutelsat W6A) 2010 10.11.2012 Ariane-5ECA 5012
Eutelsat W3B 2008 28.10.2010 f Ariane-5ECA 5370 Oxydizer leak after launch
Eutelsat W3C → Eutelsat 16A 2009 07.10.2011 CZ-3B/G2 5400
Yamal 401 2009 2014 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) 4900 cancelled
Yamal 402 2009 08.12.2012 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) 5250
Spacebus-4000C4
Ciel 2 2006 10.12.2008 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.2) 5575
Eutelsat W2A → Eutelsat 10A 2006 03.04.2009 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.2) 5900
Eutelsat W7 → Eutelsat 36B 2006 24.11.2009 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.2) 5627
HellasSat 3 / Inmarsat-S-EAN (EuropaSat) 2014 28.06.2017 Ariane-5ECA 5780
SGDC 1 2013 04.05.2017 Ariane-5ECA 5735
Yamal 601 2014 30.05.2019 Proton-M Briz-M (Ph.3) 5700
Further Aerospatiale / Alcatel / Thales Alenia and Alenia Spazio / Thales Alenia Space
 
Aerospatiale → Alcatel → Thales Alenia Alenia Spazio → Thales Alenia

Cite this page: