Hellas Sat and Thales Alenia Space have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on the development of an optical communication payload for Hellas Sat 5 telecommunications satellite.
The satellite is operating in geostationary orbit at 39 degrees East.
The partnership between Hellas Sat and Thales Alenia Space aims to provide ‘cutting-edge’ communication services with ‘very’ high data rates from geostationnary orbit. This payload aims to connect with Optical Ground Station of the National Athens Observatory in Greece, Optical Ground Stations in France, Optical Ground Stations of ESA and Thales Alenia Space's LEO HydRON telecommunication satellite.
The MoU signing ceremony took place at Hellas Sat’s headquarters in Athens, Greece, with representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the French embassy in Greece, ESA, CNES, Thales Alenia Space France, Italy and Switzerland, the National Athens Observatory, along with various Greek ministries and local authorities in attendance.
Christodoulos Protopapas, CEO of Hellas Sat stated : “We are honored to work once again with Thales Alenia Space in the realm of optical communication technology, introducing the optical connectivity communication services to the European and International market thus effectively achieving the implementation of new technologies and sealing a new era.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Hellas Sat and all our partners to develop optical communications payload, a crucial step towards establishing a secure and very high data rate optical network. This marks the beginning of a new era in telecommunication services with a sustainable approach.” said Marc-Henri Serre, Executive Vice President Telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space.
"Undoubtedly, this is a big step towards technological progress, which in fact strengthens the cooperation between Greece and France. The Hellas Sat 5 satellite which is to be constructed will provide us with new possibilities in fields such as early forecasting and the collection of scientific data" said the Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Mr. Vassilis Kikilias.
