Overview
An ESA Partnership Project called Eutelsat Quantum with satellite operator Eutelsat, prime manufacturer Airbus and manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, is a pioneering mission preparing the way for the next generation of telecommunications satellites, which will be more flexible by design and so more adaptable to customer needs once in orbit.
Eutelsat Quantum is a shift from custom-designed satellite with one-off payloads to a more generic approach, resulting in unprecedented in-orbit reconfigurability in coverage, frequency and power, allowing complete mission rehaul, including orbital position.
ESA partnered with Eutelsat and Airbus to design this programme, in response to today's market requiring satellites to be able to respond to changes in geographical or performance demand, either during manufacturing or after launch. This will enable the operator to address emerging business opportunities — even those that appear after it has ordered a satellite.
Such ESA Partnership Projects maximise the benefits to industry thanks to an efficient, co-managed approach that is tailored to commercial best practice.
The main characteristics of the mission are:
- Launch: 2021
- Satellite launch mass: 3.5 tonnes
- Lifetime: 15 years
- Payload power: 5.5 kW
- Payload mass: 450 kg