Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Monday, July 18, 2022

Arsat builds its footprint to provide services in C, Ku, HTS Ka in the Southern Cone and dynamic HTS Ku and Ka

Between 2026 and 2028, Argentina will have a fleet of four satellites in orbit with the availability of four products: C-band capacity, Ku-band capacity, dedicated HTS Ka beams in the countries of the Southern Cone, and dynamically assigned HTS Ku and Ka, according to customer needs.

Arsat's missions with the SG1 and SG2 satellites would make it possible to have, between 2026 and 2028, a fleet of four devices in orbit with the availability of four products: C-band capacity, Ku-band capacity, dedicated HTS Ka beams in the countries of the Southern Cone and HTS Ku and Ka assigned dynamically, according to customer needs. That is the future outlook outlined by Martín Fabris, Manager of Space Services at Arsat, in his presentation at Satellite Map Day 2022, held by Convergencialatina.

The Arsat-1 occupies the 72° West position and is expected to be replaced by the Arsat-SG2, since its end of design life is scheduled for the month of October 2029. At 81° West is the Arsat-2 and will be geolocated with the Arsat-SG1.

“Having two satellites on the production line implies risks and contingencies. We want to emulate what was done with Arsat 1 and 2. With four satellites in orbit, the product portfolio would enable us to meet all customer needs”, he stated.

SG1. The Arsat SG-1 is financed with US$243.8 million provided by CAF, which covers the ground, the space segment and the launch. The advances in the last time occurred in the flight and ground control segment. In the first case, compliance with the preliminary design review is scheduled for August. Arsat goes through the process of purchasing materials, consumables and mechanical, thermal and wiring components, as well as parts developed by INVAP, sensors, actuators and elements of the propulsion system. The purchase phase for the satellite's payload, such as RF components and antennas, is also nearing completion.

As for the control and communications ground segment, Fabris specified the location of teleports. There will be a main one (spot beam 12) in Benavídez, Buenos Aires province, a backup one (spot beam 15) in Palmira, Mendoza, and four additional ones (spot beam 2, Río Gallegos; spot beam 7, Bariloche; spot beam 4, possibly in Cafayate; and spot beam possibly in Viedma). The case of spot beam 32 was particularly highlighted: “It is designed so that services are provided to Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile from this Gateway. It will allow traffic to be terminated in countries with which we make trade agreements”, said the executive.

For the installation of the teleports, Arsat signed the Mendoza agreement for the establishment in Palmira industrial park. There will be 8 Ka antennas there and services will be provided for third parties. A similar agreement is being worked on with Río Gallegos, which will have a Ku and a Ka antenna. There is also a double fiber optic connection from Refefo, generators, and the possibility of placing a distributed data center or third-party antenna facilities.

SG2. Preliminary details about the projected Arsat-SG2 became known at Satellite Map Day 2022. “We are thinking of a satellite with on-board processing and a flexible payload to carry traffic wherever it is needed, for example, the Argentine Continental Shelf. The fourth satellite in the fleet should meet these requirements, especially due to the uncertainty posed by the new constellations (in low orbit)”, said Fabris.

Regarding the composition of the payload, the beam simulation established during the pre-feasibility studies stage together with INVAP distinguishes 52 beams of 0.9º in the KA HTS band, over South America; and 13 beams of 1.5º in Ku band HTS, over the Southern Cone, the Argentine Continental Shelf and the Antarctic Peninsula.

SES-17. While the launch of ARSAT-SG1 into orbit is awaited, the state-owned company will provide services on the Ka band through the SES-17 satellite, launched in mid-June. Through Resolution 4/2022 of the Secretariat for Budget Coordination and Development Planning (published on July 1), the incorporation of capacity for the "improvement of the Argentine Satellite System" was endorsed. This refers to the federalization of national telecommunications programs, and the expansion of the provision of services on Ka band.

As agreed between Arsat and SES, it will be allowed to use up to a total bandwidth of 4,030 MHz of the SES-17 in Ka Band, to provide facilities in Argentina during a period of forty-two months.

The SES artifact, located at the geostationary orbital position 67° west, is the only high-throughput satellite (HTS) in Ka band and with total coverage over the Argentine continental territory. It is electrically powered and was built by Thales Alenia Space.

It has a digital payload – driven by a digital transponder processor – and in total has 200 user beams. For SES, it is the first step in integrating a multi-orbit network: as its digital payload is compatible with adaptive resource control (ARC) software, it makes it interoperable with the company's mid-orbit system, O3b mPOWER, to be launchd before year-end.

Third position. In the evaluations of the future satellite footprint of Arsat, the request for a new orbital position before the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) should also be considered. This is position 58° West, which is planned to be used for Ka band. The request was entered last February and is under study by the international entity.

Meanwhile, the two Argentine orbital positions –72° and 81°– are guaranteed. The SG-1 is precisely designed to occupy the 81° West orbital position, whose rights expired in January 2022. That is why the Hylas 1 satellite was rented, as a "Gap Filler", to occupy it for ninety days. In this way, it was possible to extend the rights in the Ka band until April 2025.

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