OREANDA-NEWS. The Sicral 2 military telecommunications satellite will be launched on April 15. Liftoff is scheduled for 04:43 pm (local time), 09:43 pm (CET) from the  Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle.

Sicral 2 is a joint program between the Ministry of Defense in Italy and DGA (Direction G?n?rale de l’Armement), in France for the benefit of Italian and French  armed forces, with respective stakes of 62% and 38%. It is conducted by Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio, the two companies in the Space Alliance created by Finmeccanica and Thales.

Positioned at 37°E in the geostationary orbit, Sicral 2 will have a service life exceeding 15 years. It will enhance the satellite communications capabilities already provided for Italy by Sicral 1 and Sicral 1B (launched in 2001 and 2009) and for France by Syracuse 3A and 3B (launched in 2005 and 2006). All of these satellites were designed and developed by Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio.

Sicral 2 offers unprecedented flexibility and versatility. It will ensure interoperability with existing satellite systems, NATO traffic terminals and current national telecommunications networks. The satellite will provide strategic and tactical satellite communications services, supporting military land, sea and air platforms used by Armed Forces to garantee safety and security internal and external.

Thales Alenia Space is the main industrial partner in this program. In particular, it was responsible for the design of the entire Sicral 2 system, along with development, integration and testing (AIT) of the satellite at its satellite integration centers in Rome, Turin and Cannes. Thales Alenia Space is also responsible for the ground segment architecture, and it designed, developed and integrated the Mission Control Centers; Thales Alenia Space France played a similar role, integrating the French Mission Control Center into the Syracuse infrastructure.

The satellite weights 4360Kg with a power of 7KW. It will host the most technologically advanced equipment dedicated to an UHF and SHF payload for the Italian mission,  a SHF payload for the French mission as well as a payload for remote control, Telemetry and Ranging with use of Expanded Spectrum modulations.

Telespazio participated in the realization of all the Sicral program. For the Sicral 2 ground segment, it was in charge of the design, implementation, integration and testing of the Satellite Control Center, including the main system at the Control Center in Vigna di Valle (Rome) , and the backup system at the Space Center in Fucino (L’Aquila).  Moreover, the company is responsible for the interconnection system between the Italian and French mission centers.

Telespazio will manage Sicral 2 launch service from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, including the LEOP (Launch Early Orbit Phase) and IOT (In Orbit Tests) phases. Telespazio contributed funding for the development of Sicral 1B and Sicral 2 missions, therefore entitling it to part of the transmission capacity of these satellites and provides communications services to the armed forces of NATO countries.