The first of Europe’s two most advanced military telecommunication satellites, SpainSat NG-I from the Spanish operator Hisdesat, has arrived in Cape Canaveral, in the US, on board an Antonov cargo aircraft coming from the Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Toulouse, France. The launch is expected to take place on the night of the 28th of January (29th early morning in Europe), on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Airbus Defence and Space, as prime contractor, has delivered this state-of-the-art satellite to Hisdesat, which will operate it to ensure secure communications for the Spanish Armed Forces from the second half of 2025.
Based on a Eurostar Neo platform, the spacecraft has been designed, integrated and tested at Airbus in Toulouse. The satellite payload, which includes the innovative X-band transmitting and receiving active antenna system developed by Airbus in Spain, represents more than 45% of the satellite and was designed and built entirely in Spain together with Thales Alenia Space and a significant number of Spanish space companies. Airbus in the UK was responsible for part of the service module, including the mechanical platform, the propulsion system, as well as the solar array drive and antenna deploy and trim mechanisms.