Thales Alenia Space has shipped Europasat — the Inmarsat S-band/Hellas Sat 3 telecommunications satellite — to the Kourou launch pad in French Guyana to be launched by an Ariane 5 rocket in June. This “condominium satellite” for Inmarsat and Hellas Sat will provide Mobile Satellite Services (MSS), Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) and Broadcast Satellite Services (BSS).

The Inmarsat payload will deliver S-band service across all 28 member states of the European Union, plus Norway and Switzerland, while the FSS/BSS Hellas Sat payload will cover Europe, the Middle East and Southern Africa.

The Inmarsat S-band payload will offer enhanced mobile services across Europe through an integrated network, which combines S-band satellite services with a LTE (Long Term Evolution)-based ground network operated by Inmarsat’s partner Deutsche Telekom. Inmarsat S–band will support Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network, an integrated satellite and ground network that combines the best of both worlds and will offer airline passengers robust, high-capacity inflight broadband in a small, light-weight solution.

The Hellas-Sat 3 payload will deliver DTH (Direct To Home) and Telecom services in Europe, Middle East and South Africa, maintaining and expanding Hellas-Sat’s business reach with additional capacities.

Built on the Spacebus 4000 C4 platform from Thales Alenia Space, “Inmarsat S-band / Hellas Sat 3“ will deliver a multi-beam mission in S-band as well as a powerful Ku/Ka-Band mission of 45 Ku and 1 Ka transponders for Hellas-Sat. The satellite will weigh about 5.8 tons at launch and will offer payload power of about 12.7 kW. It will be positioned at 39° East.