Artemis

ESA

Spacecraft nº:

ESA spacecraft nº: 47

Advanced Data Relay and Technology Mission Satellite

Launch data:

Designation	26863 / 01029A
Launch date	12 Jul 2001 - 21:58 UT
Launch site	Ko, ELA-3
Launch vehicle	Ariane-5G (V142 / #510)
Mission	Commercial: Communications Government: Research
Geostationary orbit on:
Perigee / Apogee	35771 x 35803 km
Eccentricity	3.80E-04
Inclination	7.03 deg
Period	1436.12 min
Location	should reach 21.5°E before end of 2002

Launched failed to deliver the satellite in GTO. It will slowly be upped to GEO with its conventional motors (by mid-2002). First the orbit was raised into a circular 31000 km orbit, and in Feb 2002 the final push was made with the ion engines (200 days are needed, orbit raised by 1 km per hour!).

The satellite was developed by a consortium headed by the Italian company Alenia Aerospazio. Italy has a 40 percent share, France 21.25 percent, Germany 12 percent, Spain 7.5 percent, Britain 6.7 percent and Belgium four percent. The satellite is worth approx. EUR 820 million. ESA's most expensive satellite.

Artemis will also provide data relay links at Ka-Band (23 to 27 GHz) and S-Band (2 GHz). It will also carry an advanced L-Band (1,61 GHz) payload providing communications to mobile users. Some L-band capacity will be used to send EGNOS signals (see Galileo). Artemis will be used as relay by Spot 4, Envisat 1, Oicets, etc.

A navigation terminal to guide civilian aircraft, boats and land vehicles will be placed onboard. This modification will cost $8 million.

Specifications

Prime contractor	Alenia Spazio / Italy
Platform
Operator	European Space Agency
Mass at launch	3105 kg
Dry mass	1500 kg
Dimension
Solar array
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power	4600 W
Design lifetime	10 years

Location:

Date	Position	Remarks
Apr 2009	21.36° E

Has got liquid-propellant motors (1 of 410 N and 16 of 10 N thrust) and ion propulsion (15 mN and 18 mN). Tanks contain 1538 kg ergols and 40 kg Xenon.

Four beams will cover Europe, North Africa, and Near East and will be able to handle up to 400 bi-directionnal links.

SKDR (S/Ka band Data Relay)

Main transponders	Ka band (20/ 30 GHz) S band (2 GHz) and Ka band (23/26 GHz)
Backup transponders
Power
Bandwidth
Coverage
EIRP max
G/T max
Polarization
Frequencies	20/30 GHz 23-26 GHz (interorbit) 2 GHz (interorbit)

The antenna is 2.85 m diameter, aimed at Envisat 1

SILEX (Semi-conductor Inter-satellite Link Experiment) uses optical frequencies; it will work with Spot 4 and Oicets. It was successfully tested in Nov 2001 at 50 Mbps.

LLM

Main transponders	L-band (1.5/1.6 GHz): Ku-band (12/14 GHz):
Power
Bandwidth	L-band: 4 MHz? Ku-band: 0.9 MHz?
Coverage	Europe
EIRP max

LLM will be leased to Eutelsat.

A navigation payload (25 kg) was also added. It is part of the EGNOS program (European Geostationnary Navigation Overlay Service). Two Inmarsat 3 satellites are also part of this program.

An 18-month rescue mission recovered the satellite; develop European capabilities in satellite communications; test new technologies; support development of European navigation system (EGNOS, c. 2010).

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Kourou. Credit covers: J.VdDr.

Headquarter cancel Paris

Launch cancel Kourou. ESA cover, numbering

Ref.: #7, #15, #78a, #226, #415 - update: 16.07.21

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