The new Amazonas Nexus satellite launched by Hispasat, has Aicox Soluciones technology
The new Amazonas Nexus satellite launched by Hispasat, has Aicox Soluciones technology for control segment systems and will offer quality Wi-Fi on planes and remote regions.
Applause and cheers. The countdown carried out at the NASA base in Cape Canaveral (Miami, USA), was completed successfully during the night from Monday to Tuesday. The leading role corresponded to the Spanish company Hispasat after the launch of its high-performance satellite Amazonas Nexus, considered the most ecological of the moment. The spacecraft will advance to its orbit, which is expected to reach next August, using an electric propulsion system. To facilitate this displacement, the 4.5-ton mass satellite has lightened its weight compared to others of its kind. Among other details, the satellite giant is the first operator in the world that will balance the carbon footprint derived from the launch with the planting of a forest.
This task will be carried out through the company Sylvestris, in which Repsol and Hispasat participate. Specifically, there have been 1,200 tons of fuel consumed in the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket, from the SpaceX company, owned by magnate Elon Musk.
The satisfaction of Hispasat and SpaceX, upon verifying that the launch of the carrier rocket works as expected, is also shared by other companies participating in the project. This is the case of the builder Thales Alenia Space (TAS), which has incorporated four Spanish companies into the process: TAS Spain (responsible for the production of the interface unit, multiplexers and filters); Sener (for the manufacture of filters, couplers and reception, transmission, navigation and remote control and telemetry antennas), GMV and Aicox, for control segment systems.
Jordi Hereu, president of Hispasat, acknowledges to elEconomista.es that “the Amazonas Nexus represents an important milestone in the development of the Hispasat project, since it reflects many issues of the strategy that we are carrying out. The Amazonas Nexus allows us to address new markets important and ascending, such as access to air mobility, connectivity with maritime fleets and access to new territories”.
Among other details, Hispasat will be the Greenland telecommunications operator. It is a new generation satellite that allows us greater flexibility because it has the Digital Transparent Processor (DTP) to adapt to new needs in the future. without a doubt, it is much more versatile than previous satellite versions to adapt to the technological changes that occur during its useful life”, he explains minutes before taking off on the flight to Miami (USA).
The financing of the project is valued at 80.7 million dollars from the launch contract, as well as the launch insurance and the initial operations in orbit of the Nexus, the latter granted by EXIM-Bank in the first operation that this entity allocates to the satellite sector since 2015. “Previously, Hispasat had signed the financing for the manufacture of the satellite with BPI France and a pool of four financial entities for an amount of 129 million euros,” they explain from the company.
The profitability of the satellite is guaranteed once, before the launch, it already has 60% of its capacity already commercialized. Among other businesses, the Amazon Nexus will offer “Internet connectivity on planes, which means for passengers to be able to establish video calls on transatlantic flights,” the same sources indicate. It will also provide coverage over the entire American continent, from north to south of the Atlantic and Greenland, and will allow the provision of next-generation telecommunications services linked to broadband connectivity in remote environments and air and maritime mobility. Among the programs that will be launched with the Amazonas Nexus, the Caramuel Project initiative stands out, which will allow Hispasat the first quantum key distribution (QKD) mission through geostationary satellites.
24 hour postponement
Uncertainty is part of satellite launches. No matter how much technology exists, it always depends on weather conditions, whose random variability sets the agenda for all projects. Hispasat suffered these contingencies in the early hours of last Sunday to Monday, with a launch due to “adverse weather conditions.” Finally, those responsible for the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) of the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral (Florida), decided to delay the operation by 24 hours to execute it successfully, without the imponderal weather against it.
