UK Regional Development Agencies. Demonstration Payloads As well as its primary objective of providing in orbit validation of the Alphabus platform, Alphasat also carries four technology demonstration payloads (TDPs): Environmental Testing and Radiation Sensor - Will supply data to provide a more detailed understanding of the radiation environment at geostationary orbit. The data will not only provide Immersat information for operating Alphasat over its lifetime but also inform future satellite designs. This module was built by EFACEC in Portugal Q/V band communication and propagation - The communication bands commonly used by telecommunications companies are becoming crowded and so to increase capacity new bandwidths need to be exploited. Parallel Ka and Q band transmitters will develop the understanding of how the earth's atmosphere affects communication at these wavelengths. This TDP was built by Space Engineering and Thales Alenia Space - Italy under a co-contractorship arrangement. Active pixel startracker - Startrackers are vital to ensure satellites remain in the desired orbit, this startracker is based on an active pixel design and boasts good radiation resilience, small size and low power consumption. This module was built by Jena-Optronik Germany Optical communications and Ka band downlink - This module tests a new laser based communication system which can offer significantly higher data transfer rates than traditional methods (2.8 Gbit/s). This trial module will take data from a satellite in LEO and transmit it via Alphasat's traditional communication equipment to a ground station. The system is a test for ESA's European Data Relay System which is currently in development. The module was built by TESAT Germany First journey for Alphabus The first service module of the new Alphabus completed its first journey at the end of January 2010 – from Cannes to Toulouse, in France. The three-day trip used an exceptional convoy made up of a 20 m-long lorry carrying the satellite container, several escort cars and a police escort to close off streets and redirect traffic as they passed through urban areas. Launch Alphasat (Inmarsat 4A F4) was launched on 25 July 2013 from French Guiana by early August it had reached a holding position in geostationary orbit and had successfully deployed its solar arrays and 11-metre L-band AstroMesh reflector. Footnotes and Sources See also EADS Astrium Satellites Inmarsat Thales Alenia Space External links flashespace CNES web site ESA Portal – official website Thales Alenia Space web site Alphasat on EADS Astrium Satellites web