The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) has confirmed the commercial service introduction (CSI) of their Express-80 communications and broadcasting satellite. The satellite belongs to the RSCC orbital constellation at 80° E. The Express-80 flight tests were carried out in full with positive results.
The spacecraft is intended to provide fixed and mobile services; digital TV and radio broadcasting; high-speed Internet access, as well as data transmission across the Russian Federation and abroad.
The Express-80 spacecraft was launched into geostationary orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 31, 2020. The satellite was manufactured by JSC ISS Reshetnev Company in collaboration with its European partner, Thales Alenia Space. The Express-80 spacecraft service life is 15 years.
Yuri Prokhorov, RSCC Acting General Director, said, “The orbital slot of the Express-80 spacecraft at 80° E east longitude. i.e. over the very center of Russia, makes it possible to provide state-of-the-art and reliable communications and broadcasting services to users almost anywhere in our country. With the launch of the new satellite, we are offering the market fundamentally new products that are in high demand on the market today: packet digital broadcasting, Internet access on the move, distance education and telemedicine.”