Launch of Alphasat, Europe’s largest telecom satellite

Watch the full replay of the Alphasat launch aboard an Ariane 5, from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana on 25 July, 2013.

Alphasat is a large telecommunications satellite primarily designed to expand Inmarsat’s existing global mobile network. It was engineered and built by Astrium through a public–private partnership between ESA and Inmarsat. Along with providing a significant increase in service for Inmarsat’s fleet, it also serves as a first flight for Alphabus, the new European telecom platform developed by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space under a joint contract with ESA and France’s CNES space agency.