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Winchester, UK - Russia's largest commercial satellite company, JSC ISS, has placed a multi million euro order with Saft to supply lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery systems to power GEO (geostationary earth orbit) commercial satellites based on the Express-1000H platform.
Saft's first order within the contract is to supply the on board high energy battery system, based on its latest generation VES 180 SA Li-ion cells, for the AMOS-5 communications satellite currently under construction by JSC ISS for the Israeli satellite operator Spacecom Ltd. Scheduled for launch in 2010, AMOS-5 will expand Spacecom Ltd's fleet.
The Saft battery systems will work in conjunction with the solar array on the Express-1000H platform to power the on-board electronics. When the solar array is fully exposed to the sun it will provide the satellite's power as well as charging the batteries. But during the two eclipse seasons per year, when the spacecraft is blocked from the sun, the batteries will power the satellite.
The battery system will comprise two battery modules consisting of 40 cells of Saft's latest generation VES 180 SA Li-ion cells. These cells, which have a nominal capacity of 50 Ah, comply with all relevant ESA standards and are designed to meet the specific needs of modern space projects, especially in terms of performance and reliability.
Owing to their high specific energy of 170 Wh/kg, made possible by Saft's advanced Li-ion technology, the VES 180 SA cells can offer weight savings of around 30 to 50 percent, compared with a conventional battery. The weight savings enable JSC ISS to produce a more powerful satellite by dedicating more of the critical mass to the payload, which in turn will help the operator to generate increased revenue.
The VES cells are manufactured in Saft's facility in Bordeaux, France and will be assembled into the battery systesystems in Saft's facility in Poitiers and delivered to JSC ISS facilities in the Krasnoyarsk region.
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