[Press Release] NILESAT-301 SATELLITE TO BE BUILT BY THALES ALENIA SPACECannes, December 4, 2019 – Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced today that it has signed a contract with the Egyptian operator Nilesat to build the Nilesat-301 geostationary communications satellite, winning the contract against an international field of competitors.Positioned at 7° West, Nilesat-301 will work with Nilesat-201 to provide Ku-band services for the Middle East and North Africa. Nilesat-301 will also help extend the company’s provision of Ku-band communications and direct digital broadcasting services in two new large regions of Africa, while also providing broadband Ka-band connectivity over all of Egypt.As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for satellite design, production, testing and in-orbit acceptance tests. Thales Alenia Space will also provide satellite control system for Nilesat in both Cairo and Alexandria.The satellite is based on the Spacebus 4000-B2 platform and will weigh about 4 metric tons at launch, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022. It offers a design life exceeding 15 years.Following Nilesat-201, Nilesat-301 is the second geostationary communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Nilesat. It is also the fourth payload developed by Thales Alenia Space for the Egyptian operator.
[Egypt Independent] Egypt signs contract to build new satellite ‘NileSat 301’Al-Masry Al-YoumDecember 3, 2019Egyptian Satellite Company “NileSat” on Tuesday signed a contract to manufacture and launch the new satellite “NileSat 301,” alongside French aerospace company Thales Alenia Space....The new satellite will launch in January 2022, replacing “NileSat 201,” which ends in 2028, according to Anis....NileSat 301 has a default lifespan of 15 years and weighs 4.1 tons, Anis explained while discussing the technical capabilities of the new satellite. New frequencies were also added, which were obtained recently by the company under agreements signed with French company Eutelsat.The new satellite will expand its coverage, Anis went on to say, noting that in addition to the areas covered by the current satellite, NileSat301 will also cover countries in the south of the continent and along the Nile basin.
Nilesat partners with SpaceX to launch Nilesat-301 satellite in 2022 [Jan. 21, 2020]
The Latécoère Interconnection Systems branch has been selected by Thales Alenia Space to supply the electrical harness for the satellite bus of the Nilesat-301 geostationary communications satellite.As prime contractor for the Egyptian operator Nilesat, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for satellite design, production, testing and in-orbit acceptance tests. Thales Alenia Space will also provide satellite control system for Nilesat in both Cairo and Alexandria.Positioned at 7° West, Nilesat-301 will work with Nilesat-201 to provide Ku-band services for the Middle East and North Africa. Nilesat-301 will also help extend the company’s provision of Ku-band communications and direct digital broadcasting services in two new large regions of Africa, while also providing broadband Ka-band connectivity over all of Egypt.The satellite is based on the Spacebus 4000-B2 platform and will weigh about 4 metric tons at launch, which is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. It offers a design life exceeding 15 years.Latécoère’s spatial activities are based in Vendargues, France.
Amr Emam, the Head of Space sector at Nilesat, presented on NileSat and Africa – The common interests and potential growth. Amr discussed Nilesat’s entire satellite fleets; the Nilesat 101, Nilesat 102, Nilesat 201 and the future satellite planned for launch in April 2022, the Nilesat 301.
Stunning images of Nilesat-301 #satellite’s solar panels being deployed in @Thales_Alenia_S’ clean rooms of Cannes. Nilesat’s geostationary satellite will be launched in the months to come. We are looking forward to it! Stay tuned for upcoming program milestones.
New milestone successfully achieved for Nilesat-301 satellite, illustrated with stunning images of a reflector being integrated inside @Thales_Alenia_S’s anechoic chamber in Cannes. Stay tuned for upcoming program milestones.
It's Nilesat-301.Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 03/08/2022 08:30 pmQuote from: Alexphysics on 03/08/2022 07:43 amQuote from: gongora on 03/08/2022 03:21 am0450-EX-ST-2022, Mission 1581 NET Apr. 22From FloridaASDS North 27 46 48 West 73 38 10With landing at that place it could be any GTO sat or even the O3b mPOWER mission 1 which is supposedly not expendable and needs low inclination so a launch straight out to the east would also be needed.Nilesat-301, SES-22, and the first mPower launch are the only Falcon 9 launches that fit the bill for April/second annual quarter, according to our current NSF launch schedule.The first two will be overseas deliveries from Thales Alenia, and the third will be delivered from Boeing.If there are no corporate announcements, then watching for heavy cargo aircraft landing at one of the Space Coast airports would be an option.
Quote from: Alexphysics on 03/08/2022 07:43 amQuote from: gongora on 03/08/2022 03:21 am0450-EX-ST-2022, Mission 1581 NET Apr. 22From FloridaASDS North 27 46 48 West 73 38 10With landing at that place it could be any GTO sat or even the O3b mPOWER mission 1 which is supposedly not expendable and needs low inclination so a launch straight out to the east would also be needed.Nilesat-301, SES-22, and the first mPower launch are the only Falcon 9 launches that fit the bill for April/second annual quarter, according to our current NSF launch schedule.The first two will be overseas deliveries from Thales Alenia, and the third will be delivered from Boeing.If there are no corporate announcements, then watching for heavy cargo aircraft landing at one of the Space Coast airports would be an option.
Quote from: gongora on 03/08/2022 03:21 am0450-EX-ST-2022, Mission 1581 NET Apr. 22From FloridaASDS North 27 46 48 West 73 38 10With landing at that place it could be any GTO sat or even the O3b mPOWER mission 1 which is supposedly not expendable and needs low inclination so a launch straight out to the east would also be needed.
0450-EX-ST-2022, Mission 1581 NET Apr. 22From FloridaASDS North 27 46 48 West 73 38 10
Nilesat-301 has recently been placed inside its container & is now ready for departure. It will leave Cannes’ plant in the upcoming weeks, heading for Fos sur Mer to take the ship to Cape Canaveral. Fair wind to our satellite & looking forward to the launch!
It really doesn't sound like this is launching in April.
Huh, I thought the assumption was that was being held for the second O3b mPower launch, explicitly stated by the customer to be expendable.Does that mean they'll be throwing away B1051 too?
Next Spaceflight, updated April 23, lists the Falcon 9 first stage as 1049.11 and expendable.
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 04/25/2022 06:00 amNext Spaceflight, updated April 23, lists the Falcon 9 first stage as 1049.11 and expendable.A surprising choice at first thought, but consider.With regards to launch vehicle fitness, there will (almost certainly) be a Static Fire before launch, as was standard for the pre-1050 boosters.The first stage will provide more performance towards orbital velocity than it normally does.Therefore, the second stage will provide greater delta-velocity from the initial parking orbit to the geosynchronous transfer orbit.The spacecraft will use less propellant to reach GEO, and therefore have more for lifetime station-keeping in GEO, and therefore also a longer service lifetime (assuming no other difficulties).
Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 04/26/2022 08:37 pmQuote from: zubenelgenubi on 04/25/2022 06:00 amNext Spaceflight, updated April 23, lists the Falcon 9 first stage as 1049.11 and expendable.A surprising choice at first thought, but consider.With regards to launch vehicle fitness, there will (almost certainly) be a Static Fire before launch, as was standard for the pre-1050 boosters.The first stage will provide more performance towards orbital velocity than it normally does.Therefore, the second stage will provide greater delta-velocity from the initial parking orbit to the geosynchronous transfer orbit.The spacecraft will use less propellant to reach GEO, and therefore have more for lifetime station-keeping in GEO, and therefore also a longer service lifetime (assuming no other difficulties).Since Nilesat 301 is 4.1 tons, and taking into consideration the expendable profile, I'm estimating the GTO apogee to be about 68,000 km with the inclination at around 20 degrees. This gives a final delta-v to GEO of ~1,537 m/s (given a 200-kilometer perigee).https://gtocalc.github.io/
Seems like SpaceX is spreading some of the payload mass of the 2 original O3b mPOWER missions over 3 missions instead, likely meaning they don't need to expend a booster to boost them higher now, explains why B1049-11 is now being expended on Nilesat 301 instead