OREANDA-NEWS. ISS-Reshetnev Company has commenced mating the platform and the payload module of the telecommunications satellite Express-AM8

The integration phase includes not only the process of mating two main structural elements of the satellite but also the integration of its systems into a single whole. The integration phase is to be completed by early March, followed by rigorous environmental testing of the Express-AM8 satellite.

Being the prime contractor under the project, ISS-Reshetnev Company is responsible for the design and manufacture of the spacecraft's platform that incorporates all its services subsystems and payload module structures. As well as that, the company is tasked with the integration and testing of Express-AM8, its pre-launch activities and in-orbit commissioning.

The Express-AM8 telecommunications spacecraft is being built on an ISS-Reshetnev's middle-class Express-1000HTB platform for the national satellite operator RSCC (Russian Satellite Communications Company). Work on payload instruments was subcontracted to the French division of Thales Alenia Space.