Ibadan, 26 January 2023. – Spanish Government satellite operator Hisdesat has awarded GMV a contract to build and develop the ground segment of the SPAINSAT NG program satellites. These two new satellites, scheduled for launch in 2024 and 2025, will replace the operator’s current SpainSat and XTAR-EUR satellites and significantly improve their performance and capabilities.
The main control and tracking station will be in Madrid, Spain, and will feature state-of-the-art technologies to provide service to the SpainSat NG satellites. Likewise, the redundant station will be at the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA)’s Maspalomas Space Station.
GMV will be primarily responsible for integrating all the systems, subsystems, and horizontal services that will manage the two SpainSat NGs from the ground. It will also deploy control centers equipped with cutting-edge technologies, most notably in the control system for telecommunications payloads. This system is particularly complex for software-defined satellites such as the SpainSat NGs. Finally, GMV will develop and implement the system responsible for monitoring the payload of the satellites’ various frequency bands (X, Ka, and UHF).
According to Miguel Ángel García Primo, CEO of Hisdesat, launching the control center represents “a new milestone” in the race to launch the SpainSat NG satellites. He commented, “the technology in the ground control center is as important as the technology in the satellite itself. That is why Hisdesat has placed its trust in the top supplier in the ground segment for what will be the most advanced satellites in Europe”.
Similarly, Jesús B. Serrano, CEO of GMV, added, “this new contract further tightens the close partnership between GMV and Hisdesat, a relationship that dates back to 2002. Given the complexity and sophistication of these new satellites, the contract is a new challenge for us, one that we take on with great enthusiasm.”
