Tele-X - A multipurpose communication satellite for the Nordic countries

Tele-X, the satellite being developed with Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish government funding by SSC and Aerospatiale to provide direct-broadcast TV, data transmissions, and video transmissions to the Scandinavian countries, is characterized. The three-axis-stabilized 1200-kg-orbit-weight satellite uses the platform, service module, propulsion system, antennas, solar array, and Ariane adapter developed for the TDF-1/TV-Sat spacecraft; the 170-kg communications payload includes three 27-MHz 230-W TWTA TV channels for 18-GHz uplink and 12-GHz downlink (providing 60-dBW EIRP to the entire coverage area) and one 40-MHz and one 86-MHz data/video channel (also with 230-W TWTAs) for bit rates as high as 140 Mbit/s. The industrial organization of the project is indicated, and diagrams, maps, drawings, and tables of the satellite parameters are provided.