Express MD2 Communications Satellite to Be Built by Khrunichev: Ground Tests Continue

At the moment, Express MD2 is at the Radiofizika OAO (Joint Stock Company) Test Facility. The spacecraft is being tested for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and the performance of the onboard RF system (ORFS) is being measured in a non-reverberant chamber. These tests are to be completed by mid-April.This is the third phase of ground system-level tests scheduled for this year. The goal of the ground tests is to verify the operational availability of all spacecraft systems in an environment simulating the operational conditions in orbit.

Last February, Express MD2 thermal vacuum tests were completed. These tests were carried out at the Space Industry Research and Experimentation Center, Roscosmos located in the City of Peresvet, Moscow Region. Then in March Express MD2 spacecraft response to acoustic loads was tested in the RK 1500 reverberant chamber of the Zhukovsky Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), City of Zhukovsky, Moscow Region.

Express MD2, a small communication satellite, has been designed and fabricated by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center under a contract with Russian Satellite Communications Company(RSCC) and Thales Alenia Space of Italy within the framework of the Program of Renovation of Russian State Civilian Satellite Orbital Constellation and the Federal Space Program of Russia for 2006–2015. The satellite is designed to relay, round-the-clock, data streams to multiple users within the Russian Satellite Communications and Broadcasting System.