NPP Kvant (part of the Roscosmos holding Russian Space Systems) has signed contracts with the Siberian JSC Reshetnyov for the supply of power systems for a series of geostationary satellites. Solar panels from Kvant will be installed on the Express-40, Express-AMU51, Express-AMU52, and Express-AMU6 spacecraft, the press service of RKS reports.
The spacecraft are to be manufactured by the end of 2029, with an estimated active service life in orbit of 15 years. The satellites are being created under the federal project "Internet Access Infrastructure" and are intended for communications and broadcasting services.
According to Kvant CEO Pavel Blinov, the company's specialists are improving solar batteries, increasing their energy capacity for new spacecraft technologies. The production facilities have already passed an audit by representatives of Reshetnyov and FSUE Kosmicheskaya Svyaz.
Cooperation between the two Roscosmos enterprises has continued since the 1990s: the very first Express, launched in October 1994, already carried panels from Moscow-based NPP Kvant. The current order ensures the enterprise's production capacity will be utilized for several years ahead and eliminates the need to import similar systems for the civilian orbital constellation.
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