ARE SATELLITES IN DANGER OF DYING?

Is the satellite a device that is destined to disappear? The question arises with the coming of age of a new generation of nonspace systems such Google’s balloons (Loon) and the high altitude “pseudolite” (High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite - HAPS) of Airbus Defence & Space (Zephyr). Other projects are under development such as the StratoBus airship from Thales Alenia Space (TAS)... Not forgetting all kinds of drones which are already pilfering from satellite missions. New entrants, such as the famous GAFA quartet in the style of Google, are interested in these low-cost products which are much cheaper than a telecommunications satellite whose average price amounts to 300 million euros. However, the industry does not fear the arrival of these products. «Because its range is regional, the stratospheric airship is a per- fect complement to the satellite», explained Jean-Philippe Chessel, the head of the StratoBus program. Why? An observation satellite scans the whole earth with a repetition period that depends on its orbit and its performance, whilst a stratospheric platform or HAPS settles for observing a large restricted zone, such as a French region, quasi-continuously. Likewise, should the satellite industry be afraid of the development of orbital infrastructure platforms, such as the “Space Tugs” (cargo spaceships) that can repair or replace defective components on a satellite? Possibly... Preliminary drafts exist. “We know roughly how to do it, says one. It is a genuine breakthrough model that could come to pass in the next 15 years or so”. But operators are still very averse to such innovations. Ultimately, of most concern to the satellite industry are the start-ups that burst on the scene with very competitive products developed from mainstream commercial components. They are unshackled by the rules and requirements imposed by the space agencies. “These cost a fortune and the price of a satellite per kilogram is more than a Rolex watch”, remarks an expert. What is more, if Sodern won a very nice contract from the start-up OneWeb for the supply of 1,800 star trackers to equip 900 satellites in the OneWeb constellation, it was because the French subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space was able to divide its price by a factor of 50 to 100. To accomplish this, it developed a low-cost product from “consumer components”, remarks its CEO Franck Poirrier. For Sodern this program represents “a genuine change in the industrial paradigm”.