Stephen McPartland MP joined workers at Astrium’s Stevenage site to watch a live feed of the six-tonne SES-6 satellite being launched at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A major part of ithe satellite's construction took place in Stevenage.
Stephen said, "I am proud that Stevenage is the capital of the UK Space Industry and we build almost a quarter of the world's telecommunication satellites.
"Watching the launch with the staff, who helped build the satellite, was absolutely amazing and I am thrilled that another little piece of Stevenage is up there in space."
The satellite will be used for TV broadcasting, mobile communications and other digital projects across America, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Workers at Stevenage were responsible for building the satellite’s service module or "life support system" for surviving in space. With temperatures ranging from +150°C degrees on one side of a satellite to -150°C on the other, these parts keep the electronics at about room temperature so they work properly.
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