Astrium Wins First Greek Satellite Order (Aug. 30)
ATHENS --- Astrium has signed a contract with the Hellas-Sat Consortium for the supply of Greece's first satellite. Due for launch in Spring 2003, Hellas-Sat will provide television and telecommunications services for the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.
For Antoine Bouvier, CEO of Astrium, "this contract demonstrates the flexibility of Astrium and its ability to adapt to the needs of its customers. It is also proof of the unquestionable reliability of our Eurostar product which has been ordered by nearly a dozen of the world's leading satellite operators. We are extremely pleased to be working for a new, dynamic customer, and we heartily applaud the symbolic link that Greece has made between the Olympic Games and the space age."
Thirty three Eurostar spacecraft have been ordered to date, of which 22 have already been launched and have proved highly reliable in operational service.
For Mr. Lefteris Antonacopoulos, Chairman and CEO of OTE, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization "It is a leap forward made jointly with our Cypriot partners. This project widens our horizons placing Greece among those countries with a presence in space. The Hellenic satellite secures the TV broadcast of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games worldwide, while representing the main channel of communication between Greeks abroad with Greece and Cyprus. Moreover, it enables the provision of a broad array of services (for example satellite Internet etc.). Especially for OTE it gives the possibility to provide telecom infrastructure in Greece and to enhance its position in those countries where it is already present".
The high-power Hellas-Sat spacecraft is a Eurostar E2000+ model equipped with 30 active FSS transponders operating in Ku-band, allowing the transmission of digital TV direct to home receive antennas as small as 60 cm. It will have a launch mass of 3250 kg and an end-of-life power of 7.6 kW. Located at 39° East two deployable antennas will provide Pan European coverage, including Greece, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, while two steerable beams can be moved to cover South Africa and the Middle East.
Five companies are part of the Hellas-Sat Consortium: the Cypriot Company Avacom Net, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, the Cyprus Bank of Development, the Hellenic Aerospace Industry and Canada's Telesat.
Astrium is a joint venture, currently owned 75% by EADS, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company and 25% by BAE Systems. In 2001 Astrium had a turnover of 1.9 billion Euros with 8,400 employees in France, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain. Astrium refocuses on its satellite business activities covering civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation, science and navigation programs, avionics and equipments.
