The U.K.’s next-generation military communications satellite — Skynet 6A — has successfully completed the coupling of its communications and service modules.
The spacecraft designed and built by Airbus will provide vital communications services for Britain’s armed forces and achieved the major milestone at the National Satellite Test Facility (NSTF) in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The NSTF is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space.
Source: Airbus
“This significant development in the program will allow Airbus to complete final baseline testing at our Stevenage site, followed by environmental testing back at NSTF later this year,” said Airbus defense and space U.K. chairman Ben Bridge.
“Skynet 6A is the next-generation, fully-hardened military satellite for the Ministry of Defense. It has three-and-a-half times the capacity of the U.K.’s current Skynet 5 military satellites and is due to enter service in 2027.”
The Airbus Skynet satellite program has provided the U.K. military with sovereign capability for the past 50 years and the 6A spacecraft builds on that wealth of home-grown experience to incorporate new, innovative capabilities to meet the changing requirements of the armed forces for the foreseeable future.
This is the first time that a large, geostationary-orbit (GEO) communications satellite has been coupled in the U.K. Skynet 6A is also the first spacecraft to use the new NSTF during this initial year of operation by RAL Space; earlier this year 6A’s antennas were successfully tested in the NSTF’s electromagnetic compatibility facility.
