New facility announced in conjunction with government contract for engineering test satellite.
Satellite manufacturing is a growing industry.
The consulting firm Euroconsult estimates that 145 satellites over 110 lbs will be launched over the next ten years. That may not sound impressive, but if you add satellites under 110 lbs that number grows to 9,000.
That’s a lot of satellites to put into orbit, which is why many companies are stepping up their satellite production capabilities.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation recently announced that it will invest approximately 11 billion yen (USD $100 million) in the construction of a new satellite production facility at the company’s Kamakura Works in Japan.
Together with existing facilities, Mitsubishi Electric’s production capacity will increase to 18 satellites in parallel, up from 10 in parallel at present. According to the company, this will help satisfy growing demand for governmental satellites in Japan and commercial communication satellites worldwide. Mitsubishi Electric is targeting space-related revenue of 150 billion yen (USD $1.4 billion) by 2021.
The new facility will incorporate information technology based on Mitsubishi Electric’s e-F@ctory solutions, which aim to improve efficiencies and reduce costs through integrated automation.
The company’s history with satellites includes the Himawari-7, -8 and -9 weather satellites; the Superbird-C2, Japan’s first commercial communications satellite; the QZS high-accuracy positioning satellite systems and the TURKSAT-4A and -4B satellites for Turksat A.S of Turkey.
According to Mitsubishi Electric, the Japanese market for governmental satellites is expected to grow under the government’s Basic Plan for Space Policy to develop satellites for observations, communications and positioning, and to promote the commercial use of space for the enhancement of Japan’s industrial and scientific infrastructure.
Engineering Test Satellite 9
Mitsubishi Electric is hoping to enhance its position in the commercial communication satellites market with technologies cultivated for governmental satellites, such as next-generation engineering test satellites.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) recently chose Mitsubishi Electric as the prime contractor for the Engineering Test Satellite 9 (ETS-9) scheduled to launch in 2021. The ETS-9 will be the centerpiece of a project to develop an advanced satellite bus, or common model, for various high-throughput satellites (HTS) for communications.
The new satellite bus will focus specifically on advanced communication needs:
- Up to 25kW of power to support HTS communications
- Light mass, all-electric bus system achieved with 6kW high-power Hall thrusters
- The first Japanese geostationary satellite equipped with GPS receivers for autonomous orbital transfer and orbital maneuvering
For more information, visit the Mitsubishi Electric website.
