Syracuse is a series of French military communications satellites.

Syracuse is intended to ensure the French military can communicate between mainland France and military units deployed around the world. The satellite participates in command, reassignment and logistic aspects of operations. The system is nominally under the command of the French Navy, equipping a total of 54 ships (2009) and it is complemented by the Telcomarsat commercial system of communications.

Syracuse 1 to 3

Syracuse 1 and 2 were payloads on joint civilian-military satellite designs developed and operated by the French PTT, and were more commonly known by their civilian names Télécom 1 (3 satellites in 1984, 1985 and 1988) and Télécom 2 (4 satellites in 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996). Matra Marconi Space was a development contractor, who also worked on the British Skynet 4 military communications satellite.

In 2006, the programme was awaiting for the third phase, Syracuse-3, to replace Syracuse-2. Syracuse-3 is composed of two satellites developed by the Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), and a third satellite (Sicral-2), developed along with Italy. It is an attempt of the French armed forces to achieve autonomy in terms of satellite communications.

Satellites comprising the constellation:

• Syracuse-3A (launched 13 October 2005)
• Syracuse-3B (launched 11 August 2006)
• SICRAL-2 (launched 26 April 2015)

Syracuse 4

In 2018, the French Ministry of Defence announced the development of three Syracuse-4 satellites. Two satellites, Syracuse 4A and 4B, were initially ordered, with a third one, Syracuse 4C, that has been added later. Surplus capacity will be sold to armed and security forces in Europe and elsewhere. Airbus Defence and Space will supply and operate the satellite ground stations.

It was announced in July 2019 that the next generation of Syracuse satellites, Syracuse-4, would have cameras to identify possible attackers. The satellites of the following generations (Syracuse-5) will be equipped with defensive weapons. Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, officially signed on 3 September 2019 the decree creating the Space Command (Commandement de l'espace - CDE) within the Air Force, which should eventually become the "Air and Space Army".

The first satellite of this family, Syracuse 4A, was launched on 24 October 2021 with an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the Guiana Space Centre. It was built by Thales Alenia Space, and has a launch mass of 3,853 kilograms (8,494 lb) and uses a plasma propulsion engine. The second one, Syracuse 4B, is scheduled to be launched in June 2023, while the third one is scheduled to be launched by 2025.

DLR (German Aerospace Center) is developing a geostationary communications satellite mission, called ‘Heinrich Hertz‘ after the German 19th-century physicist (1857-1894) who discovered the electromagnetic waves and expanded the electromagnetic theory of light that had been put forth by the Scottish physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). The objective of the mission is to explore and demonstrate new communication technologies in space at a technical and scientific level in order to determine how broadband communications, for example, can result in high data rates for mobile end users.

The satellite project, a technology demonstration mission, will permit German universities, research institutes, as well as industrial companies to conduct a multitude of experiments, thus giving scientists and engineers a head start in the development of new communication technologies and services. Beyond that, ‘Heinrich Hertz‘ will contribute to the further development of space technologies for the communications satellites of the next generation.

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). The phase A of the project started in mid-2009. Planned for launch in 2016, the satellite will operate for 15 years and verify new payload technologies in orbit.

OHB System AG of Bremen is the lead in the national Heinrich Hertz syndicate comprising Tesat-Spacecom GmbH, Audens Telecommunications Consulting, DLR/GSOC, SciSys Deutschland GmbH, HPS, INVENT, Astrium, Inradios GmbH, Dresden, and DLR/IKN (Institute of Communications and Navigation).

In accordance with the German space strategy the Heinrich-Hertz mission shall achieve the following goals:

• Maintaining and developing key skills of German payload and platform technologies for geostationary communication satellites
• Securing and strengthening system capability for payloads of geostationary communications satellites
• Demonstration of scientific/technical communication experiments including new ground technologies
• Maintaining and expanding the system capability for small geostationary communication satellites in an independent German Mission
• Provision of satellite transponder capacity for the tasks of the German Ministry of Defense.

Credit: ESA

Meet the European Space Agency's heavy-lift, workhorse rocket.

Ariane 5 is operated by Arianespace and carries a per launch price tag of approximately $168 million (USD). However, Arianespace offers ride-shares for two large payloads on the same mission.

Stats

Height: 46–52 m (151–171 ft)

Diameter: 5.4 m (18 ft)

Mass: 777,000 kg (1,713,000 lb)

Stages: 2

The two payloads ride one on top of the other, with the upper payload customer paying $101 million (USD) and the lower payload customer paying $67 million (USD).

This makes the price of an Ariane 5 launch competitive with other heavy-lift rockets from a "what the customer pays" perspective.

Ariane 5 debuted on June 4th, 1996, and has undergone five upgrades over the years.

Of those five variants, one remains in operation: the Ariane 5 ECA (Evolution Cryotechnique type A).

Over its service life, the rocket has launched hundreds of satellites as well as five cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station.

Arianespace and the European Space Agency are in the process of building Ariane 5's successor, Ariane 6, which will be more affordable than Ariane 5.

At this time, the rocket will fly until at least 2023.

Photo: An Ariane 5 lifts off from South America. Credit: Arianespace

ELA-3 (Ensemble de Lancement Ariane 3) is a launch pad built specially for the Ariane 5 rocket - the European Space Agency's (ESA's) and Arianespace's heavy-lift workhorse.

Built in the mid-1990s, it was first used on June 4th, 1996, for the maiden launch of Ariane 5.

ELA-3 is located in the Guiana Space Centre (French: Centre Spatial Guyanais), a French and European spaceport located near Kourou in French Guiana near the northern tip of South America.

The space centre itself has been operational since 1968 and has hosted launches for the ESA, the French National Centre for Space Studies, and commercial companies Arianespace and Azercosmos.

A total of 9 different rockets types have launched from the Guiana Space Centre, including three active rockets and six retired vehicles.

The current rocket fleet at the space center is comprised of the Ariane 5 for heavy payloads, the Russian-provided Soyuz 2.1 for medium-mass payloads, and Vega for smaller satellites.