The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThe ESA-Eutelsat developed Skyplex payload on Hot Bird 4 is an example of how satellite technologies are adapting to the digital broadcasting environment. Direct uplinking from a production facility to a satellite eliminates the use of terrestrial master stations; Skyplex puts this objective into reality. It is possible for a production facility to transmit its programmes as a digital stream. The Skyplex processor onboard Hotboard 4 receives these low-rate sources and re-combines them into a single, high-rate multi-channel digital video broadcast signal transmitted directly to viewers' homes. Skyplex payloads are mounted on Eutelsat's Hot Bird 4 and Hot Bird 5 satellites, due to be launched in late February and Summer 1998 respectively. Second-generation Skyplex processors, capable of handling the different kinds of data found in advanced multimedia applications and able to provide multi-beam downlink operations, are currently under development. The Skyplex payload has been built by Alenia Spazio in Rome, Italy under ESA contract.