Abu Dhabi, UAE - 10 December 2024 – Space42’s Thuraya 4 telecommunications satellite, built by Airbus, has reached its destination at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where it will be launched into orbit by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in December 2024. The satellite was shipped from Toulouse, France, onboard an Airbus BelugaST (A300-600ST).
The new Thuraya 4 geostationary satellite will deliver superior capabilities and increase coverage across Europe, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, enabling next-generation mobility solutions for customers. In 2020, Airbus was selected to build Thuraya 4 by Yahsat, now part of Space42, the UAE’s AI-powered SpaceTech company with global reach.
Ali Al Hashemi, CEO of Yahsat Space Services, Space42, said: “We are delighted that the Thuraya 4 satellite has reached its final destination before launch. Thuraya 4 is at the core of our next-generation mobility solutions plans and demonstrates our commitment to harnessing advanced SpaceTech to unlock innovative AI-powered services for our global client base. Thuraya 4 will significantly expand our product offerings with more than 15 new products when it becomes fully operational.”
Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space said: “The shipment of Thuraya 4 represents a major milestone and reinforces our longstanding partnership with Yahsat Space Services, Space42 stretching back more than 10 years. In addition to being fully electric, Thuraya 4 also features Airbus’ latest processed payload technology to give increased flexibility and adaptability to Space42’s customers across land, sea and air.”
Leveraging the state-of-the-art all-electric Airbus Eurostar Neo Platform, Thuraya 4 will incorporate a 12 meter- antenna operating in L-Band and a payload with on-board processing. This will provide advanced routing flexibility of up to 3200 channels with dynamic power allocation over a large number of spot beams.
Thuraya 4 is one of the largest MSS communication satellites produced which allows for more services, higher speeds, and higher level of performance security. Thauraya 4 will enable Space42 to cover a greater spectrum and support customers across industries, including defense, government, and enterprise.
The BelugaST took off from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on Saturday 23rd of November, and, following stopovers in the Azores and Nova Scotia, arrived on US soil on 25th of November.
The Eurostar Neo family of Airbus telecommunications satellites is based on a next-generation platform and technologies, developed with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA), and others, including the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the UK Space Agency (UKSA).