SpaceWatch.Global An independent perspective on space
Farnborough, 8 September 2022. – Arianespace’s heavy-lift launcher, Ariane 5, flight VA258, has successfully deployed Eutelsat’s Konnect VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) telecommunications satellite. This was the launcher’s second mission of the year, the 114th overall, and the 37th time that Ariane launched a satellite for Eutelsat.
The Thales Alenia Space-built Konnect VHTS will provide high-speed internet to Europe, even to isolated regions with low coverage. With its instantaneous throughput of 500 Gbps, Konnect will contribute to bridging the digital-speed gap. It will also address the connectivity needs of fixed and mobile telecommunications networks whether on land, sea or in the air.
The Konnect VHTS carries a payload using technologies developed with the support of the French Government through CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) and ESA. This payload includes the most powerful digital processor in the world, according to Arianespace. It combines capacity allocation, optimized spectrum use and support with gradual network coverage deployment on the ground.
Ariane 5 is an ESA program carried out in cooperation with public institutions and industry across 12 European partner states. The heavy-lift launcher has three more missions left before its retirement, after which Ariane 6 is going to take over.
