Express-AM7 Telecommunication Satellite

Artist’s rendition of the Express-AM7 telecommunication satellite. Credit: Russian Satellite Communications Company.

The Express-AM7 satellite was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Credit: Russian Satellite Communications Company.

Express-AM7 was delivered to Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in February 2015. Credit: Russian Satellite Communications Company.

The satellite was launched by a Proton Breeze M rocket in March 2015. Credit: Roscosmos.

Russia’s new heavy-class telecommunication satellite, Express-AM7 is designed to provide communications and broadcasting services to users in the Russian Federation, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

The satellite, owned and operated by the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), was lifted-off onboard a Proton Breeze M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan in March 2015 and became operational in April 2015.

Positioned in a 40° East geostationary orbital slot, the satellite offers domestic and international users with broadband internet access, multimedia, television and radio broadcasting, data and telephony services. It also enables mobile operators to establish corporate networks to connect remote cellular base stations for providing communications in difficult-to-reach and remote areas.

Express AM-7 telecommunication satellite development

The Russian Space Agency and the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media together made a decision on the development of the Express-AM7 telecommunication satellite in September 2011.

EADS Astrium (now Airbus Defence and Space) was awarded a contract by RSCC for the manufacture and delivery of the Express-AM7 in March 2012. The satellite was delivered to Baikonur Cosmodrome facility by Volga-Dnepr Airlines of Russia aboard an An-124-100 heavy transport aircraft.

The €152.8m ($166m) project was supported by off-budget funds based on a line of credit from State Corporation, Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank).

The spacecraft will transmit TV programme packages until 2015 under the federal target programme, contribute to the development of TV/radio broadcasting in the Russian Federation from 2009 to 2015 and assist with communication services for the government, specialised users and the Office of the President. It will also deliver fixed satellite-supported communications for public and commercial purposes.

Other satellites in the Express-AM series are Express-AM44, Express-AM6, Express-AM22, Express-AM2, Express-AM33, Express-AM3 and Express-AM5.

Design of the Russian telecom satellite

The Express-AM7 telecommunication satellite is based on EADS Astrium’s heavy-lift Eurostar E3000 satellite bus, which can be fitted with more than 100 transponders. Operational lifetime of the satellite is 15 years.

The spacecraft is stabilised in three axes and has a station keeping accuracy of ±0.05 (N&S/E&W). It weighs 5,720kg and has a maximum payload carrying capacity of 1,438.5kg. It incorporates an 18kW power supply source while its payload power consumption is 13.66kW.

Payloads attached to Express AM7

Communications payload of the Express-AM7 satellite comprises a total of 80 transponders, operating in Ku-, С- and L-bands. The satellite is fitted with up to eight antenna systems (two steerable) for providing communication to any location on Earth within its range of view. Its multi-zone fixed antennae cover regions in Russia, Western Europe and Asia.

Details of the Proton Breeze M launch vehicle

The Proton Breeze M integrated launch vehicle (ILV) is produced by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and is marketed by International Launch Services (ILS). It has a monocoque structure made of aluminium and composites. The ILV has an overall length of 58.2m and a gross lift-off mass of 705,000kg.

The vehicle comprises a three-stage Proton rocket with Breeze M upper stage. It uses nitrogen tetroxide (N₂O₄) and unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) as propellants.

Ground control

The satellite and its payloads are controlled from satellite monitoring and control ground facilities developed by RSCC.