Communications satellite is powered by Saft Li-ion batteries

Communications satellite is powered by Saft Li-ion batteries

Koreasat 5, South Korea's first hybrid civil and military communications GEO(geosynchronous) satellite, launched successfully on August 22, is powered by a Saft Li-ion rechargeable battery system that ensures continuous operation during periods when the satellite's solar panels are eclipsed by the Earth. Koreasat 5(In Korea, the Koreasat 5 satellite is named “Mugunghwa” which means Rose of Sharon – for symbolic and ancient reasons, this is Korea's national flower) was built by Alcatel Alenia Space on behalf of the KT Corporation and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

Koreasat 5 was launched by a Zenit- 3SL rocket from the Sea Launch Company's Odyssey platform in the equatorial Pacific. It will replace Koreasat 2. Based on Alcatel Alenia Space's Spacebus 4000 C1 platform, Koreasat 5 features a state-of-the-art broadband payload including new technologies developed within the scope of European military programs. It offers secure military communications for the Korean defence forces as well as servicing KT's satellite business, and will contribute to the improvement of the DTH (direct to home) TV offer in Korea. The satellite will provide 8.9kW of electrical power and its lifetime is expected to extend beyond 15 years.

For Koreasat 5, Saft developed a battery system comprising three packs connected in series. The packs are made up of ten modules connected in series,each module comprising three VES140S cells in parallel. The VES cells are manufactured in Saft's industrial factory in Bordeaux, France and integrated into the packs and tested at Saft's facility In Poitiers, France.

Details available from: Saft Specialty Battery Group, Tel: +33 1 49 93 19 18.