ConeXpress

ConeXpress was a planned orbital life extension vehicle, planned to orbit Earth. It would give the operators of geostationary communications satellites with an opportunity to extend the revenue-earning life of their space assets by up to 10 years. The satellite would dock with a target spacecraft and boost it to keep it in orbit. The programme was co-funded by ESA and Orbital Recovery Ltd.

Docking

The onboard docking equipment consisted of a capture tool that inserts a probe into the throat of the apogee motor of the Client satellite, locks itself to the throat by expanding the crown of the probe, and pulls the Client satellite back towards it by retracting the probe. This process is reversed for undocking. ConeXpress could dock with a satellite weighing up to 2500 kg.

Specifications

• Shape: Conical
• Base Dimension: 2.6M
• Height: 0.9M
• Power: Solar Panels
• Solar Wing Span: 15M
• Mass: 1400 kg
• Propulsion: Ion Engines

ConeXpress Partners

• Dutch Space
• Arianespace
• EADS CASA Espacio
• Oerlikon Space
• GMV
• Kayser-Threde
• DLR
• NLR
• Sener
• Snecma Moteurs
• Swedish Space Corporation

External links

• http://telecom.esa.int/telecom/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=17870
• http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/conexpress-ors.htm