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Information Satellite Systems
History
subsystem, thermal control (two stages) were functioning properly. The onboard software passed all tests as well. The in-orbit test operations were conducted by NPO PM’s Satellite Control Center located in Zheleznogorsk. On August 8, 2000 the SESAT satellite was accepted by the customer and became fully operational. It is already 10 years since the SESAT satellite started its service for EUTELSAT. It has been carrying out its mission in orbit successfully. At present all the satellite subsystems are operating in the nominal mode. Thus, with every new day the SESAT spacecraft continues to prove the high quality of Russia’s space-technology products.
SESAT’s role The enplaning of the spacecraft purchased expensive equipment in 1997 and quite soon proceeded to work. By mid 1998 IKAR had been completed. In terms of characteristics, interfaces and functions IKAR excelled foreign analogues. The simulator was used for testing satellite control. In July 1998 EUTELSAT specialist spent two weeks testing the operation of the simulator and all the onboard subsystem models. Tests were successfully completed. In December 1998 the Reshetnev team installed IKAR in EUTELSAT’s Satellite Control Centre (Paris). The creation of the IKAR simulator offered the Reshetnev Company additional opportunities for mastering new technologies to perform satellite design and ground testing at a high level and in due time.
Integration of the rocket parts
In-orbit operation On March 16, 2000 the SESAT satellite was delivered to the Baikonur launch site. Pre-launch preparations took a month. Finally, on April 18, 2000 the SESAT spacecraft was launched atop a Proton launch vehicle. The satellite’s solar arrays and antennas got deployed 14 minutes after the satellite had separated from the upper stage. It took less than 45 minutes for the satellite to enter the damping mode. All the service subsystems were thoroughly tested within the following 22 days. During the first week of in-orbit operation the satellite demonstrated excellent performance: its onboard control unit, ADCS, propulsion subsystem, electrical power
10 years of faultless in-orbit operation as well as the ease of control confirm SESAT’s design reliability. As a matter of fact, the SESAT design served as the basis for a series of Express-AM telecommunications satellites which today form the core of the Russian orbital fleet. The SESAT program laid the foundations of the fruitful cooperation between ISS and the world’s leading space companies. Based on the combination of strengths inherent in Russian and western technologies that cooperation resulted in a radically new space-technology product that excelled any former spacecraft in terms of performance and operational capabilities. The international partnership that was formed during the program proved to be very effective and lasting, thus, giving impetus to greater collaborative initiatives in satellite building.
Russian and French project team members before the satellite launch