Airbus Defence and Space supports South Korean weather satellite programme
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has awarded Airbus Defence and Space a €45 million contract to deliver important subsystems and equipment for the two GEO-KOMPSAT-2 (GK2, Geostationary Earth Orbit Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite) platforms. GK2 is a South Korean government programme to develop and operate two geostationary civilian satellites, GK2A and GK2B, for numerous missions, among them meteorological, environmental and ocean monitoring.
Airbus Defence and Space will deliver the complete propulsion subsystem and the structure of the medium-sized/small geostationary satellite platforms, which have a launch mass of three to four tons. The Electronics Business Line of Airbus Defence and Space will supply the GK2 satellites with power and avionics units, while the Space Systems Business Line will provide them with a fully integrated propulsion subsystem consisting of the central cylinder structure, the chemical propulsion and the associated thermal control system. The system development and integration of the GK2 spacecraft bus fall under KARI’s responsibility. Both sides are capitalising on the experience gained from co-developing the COMS (Communications, Oceanography and Meteorology Satellite), which has been in orbit since 2010.
In order to provide the customer with such a complete and secure solution from a single partner, Airbus Defence and Space is leveraging its combined product portfolio and capabilities across eight sites. “This contract achievement demonstrates the benefits of synergies between diverse disciplines and Business Lines and of comprehensive customer knowledge. It relies on the great team spirit of our people from different Airbus Defence and Space entities and on their having a common objective and working together to provide the customer with an unrivalled, leading-edge solution,” said Christian Scherer, Head of Marketing and Sales at Airbus Defence and Space.
The GK2A satellite will carry meteorological and space weather monitoring payloads, and GK2B will carry environmental and ocean monitoring payloads. In July 2013, Airbus Defence and Space and KARI already signed a contract for the development of the GOCI II oceanographic imager, which will fly on board GK2B. The target launch dates for the satellites are planned for 2018 for GK2A and 2019 for GK2B.
About Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and among the top ten global defence enterprises. It employs some 40,000 employees generating revenues of approximately €14 billion per year.
