Alphasat, the largest and most sophisticated telecom satellite ever produced in Europe, has been built through a public–private partnership between ESA and Inmarsat by EADS-Astrium as the prime contractor.

Due for launch from Kourou, French Guiana, Alphasat’s antenna has a diameter of nearly 12 m, and its solar arrays span 40 m when deployed. It weighs over 6 tonnes fully fuelled, and is designed to expand Inmarsat’s broadband network over Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle-East. It has an operational lifetime of 15 years.