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| The EgyptSat-2 satellite series
Egyptsat-2 satellite also known as 559GK or Misrsat-2. Copyright © 2013 Anatoly Zak Project history In 2007, the Egyptian government made its first attempt to acquire its own high-resolution surveillance satellite with the launch of the Egyptsat-1 spacecraft built in Ukraine. However the satellite failed prematurely after more than three years of operation. Although Egypt apparently continued working with the Ukrainian KB Yuzhnoe design bureau on a follow-on project, Cairo received a bid from Moscow to supply a state-of-the-art "eye in the sky". In 2009, after around four years of negotiations, Egypt awarded a contract to Russia for the development of a high-resolution imaging satellite. In Moscow, the project was officially handled by Rosoboroneksport, the government-owned company specialized in exports of military technology. However the actual development of the spacecraft was delegated to RKK Energia based in Korolev near Moscow and renown around the world for its leading role in the nation's manned space flight. The company also built the ill-fated BelKA imaging satellite in cooperation with the former Soviet republic of Belarus. RKK Energia's new imaging satellite was originally known as E-Star, but it was eventually re-christened Egyptsat-2, as a parallel name-sake effort between Egypt and Ukraine had been delayed from 2013 to at least 2015. RKK Energia based the E-Star/Egyptsat-2 design on its latest concept of an imaging satellite designated 559GK. In turn, the 559GK satellite derived from RKK Energia's experience during the development of the Yamal-100 communications satellite. It was the company's first spacecraft platform whose electronics and other systems were hardened to function in the vacuum of space, rather than inside failure-prone pressurized compartments, thus dramatically increasing the satellite's operational life span. RKK Energia also relied on the flight control system originally developed for the new-generation Yamal-300 satellite to build Egyptsat's computer brain. The satellite was equipped with SPD-70 electric engines with a thrust of 40 mH and power of 700 Watts. Engines used xenon gas as propellant to enter its operational orbit and to conduct orbit corrections. This propulsion system was developed at OKB Fakel in Kaliningrad. Also, the Moscow-based NII KP design bureau reported that it had developed reaction wheels for Egyptsat's orientation system. The Technologia enterprise based in the Russian city of Obninsk and the part of RT-Khimkompozit holding in cooperation with NPP Tais developed thermal control panels for Egyptsat-2 integrated with the satellite's body. RT Khimkomposit reported spending just two months after receiving the assignment to assemble the structure. In its overall architecture, the 559GK satellite appeared similar to the latest-generation Earth-watching satellites developed in the West, such as Pleiades. Like Pleiades, the one-ton Egyptsat-2 was assigned for launch on the Soyuz-U rocket into a 700-kilometer orbit, even though this rocket could deliver almost four times more payload into a comparable altitude. Russia's new capabilities According to its official specifications, the one-ton 559GK satellite could discern details as small as one meter on the Earth's surface. In addition to regular photos, the satellite's optics could produce infrared imagery. RKK Energia said that the satellite's camera could snap individual images as well as stereo pairs, conduct continuous shooting along its flight path and function in a cartographic mode. According to the company, the spacecraft promised to double the resolution capabilities of existing Russian satellites and hinted at some new techniques in electronic processing of imagery. RKK Energia sub-contracted the development of the satellite's powerful optics and its data downlink system to OAO Peleng and NIRUP Geoinformatsionnye Sistemy in Belarus. The European consortium EADS Astrium (currently Airbus) was also involved in the payload development. In December 2011, the German company MT Aerospace reported a delivery of a light-weight structure made out of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, CFRP, for a reflecting telescope of the Egyptsat-2 satellite. The flight version followed a development prototype, which MT Aerospace supplied to RKK Energia previous August. Russia also apparently trained Egyptian engineers to control the satellite from a ground station near Cairo. The Moscow-based NPK BARL concern announced the completion of the center in October 2011. The total price tag for the Egyptsat-2 project was rumored to be around $40 million. The development of the satellite coincided with a major political upheaval in Egypt; however, the nation's military clearly managed to fully fund the project. In case of success of the Egyptsat-2 project, more satellites of this type could be built, including a version for the Russian government. A similar strategy of marketing to foreign customers enabled Russia to fund a number of advanced space projects. For example, a Korean contract for the development of the KSLV-1 rocket directly benefited Russia's own Angara program, while the government of South Africa agreed to purchase its own version of Russia's new-generation Kondor radar satellite.
Launches in the EgyptSat family:
Known specifications of the 559GK spacecraft (as of 2011):
Known contractors in the 559GK (Egyptsat-2) project:
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