Eutelsat Quantum was launched on 30 July 2021 by an Ariane 5 from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.
Eutelsat Quantum was launched on 2021-07-30 by an Ariane 5 from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana.
The satellite technologies for Eutelsat Quantum were developed and manufactured in the United Kingdom and in Spain, with additional contributions from companies based in Canada, Italy, Norway, and the Netherlands.
Arianespace launched Eutelsat Quantum and the StarOne D2 payload on an Ariane 5 on 2021-07-30.
Eutelsat’s mobile connectivity revenues climbed 9.8% to 37,000,000 EUR as the software-defined, reprogrammable Eutelsat Quantum satellite entered service following its launch in mid-2021.
Ariane 5 launched the Star One D2 and Eutelsat Quantum communications satellites on 2021-07-30, from Kourou, French Guiana, marking Ariane 5’s first flight in nearly a year.
EUTELSAT QUANTUM operates in Ku-band with eight independent reconfigurable beams.
EUTELSAT QUANTUM was developed with Airbus Defence and Space and the European Space Agency (ESA) for operator Eutelsat.
Eutelsat will initially operate Eutelsat Quantum at 48 degrees east in geostationary orbit to provide Ku-band service in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Ariane 5 upper stage deployed the Eutelsat Quantum satellite six minutes after deploying Star One D2 into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Eutelsat Quantum is based on a platform developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd.
Arianespace’s backlog currently includes 20 Airbus Defence and Space built satellites including CERES (x3), SYRACUSE 4B (COMSAT NG 2), EUTELSAT QUANTUM, METOP-SG A1, METOP-SG B1, THEOS-2, CSO 3, Pléiades Neo (x3), JUICE, Measat-3d, Biomass, EarthCARE, and CO3D (x4).
Eutelsat Quantum completed radio frequency testing in Toulouse, France on 2020-07-27 during which its reconfigurable payload was activated to ensure proper function.
Manufacturing delays shortened Eutelsat Quantum’s lead as the frontrunner of reprogrammable satellites after it was once expected to launch in 2018.
Eutelsat Quantum was ordered in 2015 as part of a public-private partnership partly funded through the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) program.
Eutelsat Quantum is scheduled to launch late 2020 on a European Ariane 5 rocket.
Airbus built Eutelsat Quantum in the United Kingdom on a platform from its subsidiary Surrey Satellite Technology Limited.
Eutelsat Quantum features a Ku-band electronically steerable multi-beam antenna built in Spain with support from the Spanish government’s Center for Industrial Technological Development.
Arianespace is contracted to launch Eutelsat Quantum on an Ariane 5 rocket.
Eutelsat Quantum will launch in the second half of 2020 instead of late 2019 due to manufacturing delays and launcher availability.