PARIS — The tri-band Yamal 601 telecommunications satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems will be built by Thales Alenia Space and launched aboard an International Launch Services (ILS) Proton rocket in 2016 under contracts announced Jan. 22 by Thales and ILS.
The satellite, which notably will carry the equivalent of 26 Ka-band transponders to develop consumer broadband services in Russia, will also carry 16 C-band and 19 Ku-band transponders. It will operate at Gazprom’s 49 degrees east longitude orbital slot to replace the Yamal 202 satellite there now. Its coverage will extend westward to Europe, southward to the Middle East and North Africa, and eastward to Southeast Asia.
Yamal 601 will use Thales Alenia Space’s Spacebus 4000C4 platform and provide 11 kilowatts of power to the payload at the end of its service life of more than 15 years. It is expected to weigh more than 5,700 kilograms at launch, Reston, Va.-based ILS said.
France- and Italy-based Thales Alenia Space said the contract, which had been expected, includes training Gazprom Space Systems personnel “to enhance their expertise in different space industry disciplines,” the company said.
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