Thales Alenia Space has recently finished assembling and testing an engineering model of the SolarFlex solar array for their Space INSPIRE product line. This innovative, full-scale model will undergo vibration tests in the near future. The SolarFlex solar array, which features ground-breaking technology, is a flexible array that wraps around a rail like an automatic roller blind and represents a major milestone for Europe.
The SolarFlex technology is based on patented Thales Alenia Space technology and uses latest-generation photovoltaic cells mounted on a flexible substrate, resulting in high power density while occupying four to five times less space.
Space INSPIRE is a compact solution, built on a mid-sized platform, with the goal of accommodating two satellites under a launcher’s fairing. The SolarFlex arrays are similarly compact and will be assembled at Thales Alenia Space’s Industry 4.0 facility in Hasselt, Belgium.
SolarFlex is developed in partnership with the Czech BSTG consortium and supported by the French space agency CNES, the Czech government, and the Belgian (BELSPO) through ARTES programs. The first SolarFlex flight model will fly on the ASTRA-1Q geostationary communications satellite ordered by Luxembourg operator SES in November 2021.
Space INSPIRE offers customers the agility to develop advanced services and seize new business opportunities, thanks to its digital and ultra-flexible solution that is fully reprogrammable in orbit. This allows operators to adjust capacity to demand anytime and anywhere, regardless of frequency band. With its software-defined technology, Space INSPIRE is transforming the fast-paced communications market. In 2022, Thales Alenia Space won contracts for six of the ten competitively sourced telecommunications satellites, including five Space INSPIRE satellites, making them the number one player in the geostationary communications satellite market. The Space INSPIRE product line is supported by CNES and several European components of the satellite are also supported through ESA via ARTES programs.
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