Geostationary

HISPASAT 36W-1

Commercial Communications / Technology Pioneer · Hispasat / Spain

Spain's advanced all-electric satellite for the Americas and Europe, pioneering all-electric propulsion for a major commercial GEO satellite. All-electric satellites use ion engines for orbit raising instead of chemical rockets — taking months to reach GEO instead of weeks but saving thousands of kilograms of propellant mass that translates into more payload capacity or lower launch costs. Hispasat 36W-1 demonstrated that all-electric GEO satellites are commercially viable, accelerating their adoption across the industry.