ARABSAT has selected in January 2009 the consortium of Astrium and Thales Alenia Space to build and deliver in orbit the new satellite Badr 7 (or Arabsat 6B).
Arabsat-6B will be co-located with the rest of ARABSAT's BADR constellation of Direct-To-Home satellites at its 26° East video "hot-spot", extending in-orbit capacity for television services. Also a Eurostar-3000 model, equipped with a payload featuring 36 active transponders in Ku-band, Arabsat-6B will have a spacecraft power of 10.5kW at the end of its 15-year design lifetime.
Astrium and Thales Alenia Space are jointly responsible for building the satellites and delivering them in orbit. Astrium, the leading partner, will supply the Eurostar-3000 platforms and integrate the satellites. Thales Alenia Space will design and build the communications payloads. The team will also upgrade the ground control segment for the extended ARABSAT satellite fleet.
| Nation: | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Communication |
| Operator: | Arabsat |
| Contractors: | Astrium (prime), Thales Alenia Space (payload) |
| Equipment: | 36 active Ku-band transponders |
| Configuration: | Eurostar-3000 |
| Propulsion: | ? |
| Power: | |
| Lifetime: | 15 years |
| Mass: | |
| Orbit: | GEO |
| Satellite | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabsat 6B | Ko ELA-3 | Ariane-5ECA | with ? |
Source: Astrium Website