science

Hispasat

Hispasat is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hispasat rather than just read about it. In short: Hispasat is the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites that cover the Americas, Europe and North Africa from orbital positions 30.0° West and 61.0° West. It was formed in 1989 and its activities include provision of communication services in the commercial and government sectors (corporate networks, advanced telecommunications services, telephony, videoconferencing, etc.).

Key takeaways

Hispasat belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hispasat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hispasat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hispasat is the operating company for a number of Spanish communications satellites that cover the Americas, Europe and North Africa from orbital positions 30.0° West and 61.0° West. It was formed in 1989 and its activities include provision of communication services in the commercial and government sectors (corporate networks, advanced telecommunications services, telephony, videoconferencing, etc.). Hispasat's fleet of satellites broadcast more than 1250 television channels and radio stations to more than 30 million homes, as well as providing services such as broadband to mobile telephones and landlines. The first Hispasat satellite sent into orbit was Hispasat 1A, which was launched on 11 September 1992 on board an Ariane 4 launch vehicle from the Centre Spatial Guyanais near Kourou in French Guiana. It was put into geostationary orbit at 30° West, which is the location of all their subsequent satellites serving Spain and Europe.

The Amazonas satellites (61° West) were inaugurated in 2004 with the launch of Amazonas 1, which served the American market (mainly Latin America). Amazonas 2 was launched on 1 October 2009 and Amazonas 3 on 7 February 2013 replacing Amazonas 1, which was moved to a new position at 36° West in September 2013. Amazonas 4A was launched on 22 March 2014. A fifth generation of this satellite series, Amazonas 5, was launched on 11 September 2017.

Corporate structure and shareholders

The Hispasat Group is formed of Hispasat S.A., its subsidiaries Hispasat Canarias, Hispamar Satellites (a joint venture with the Brazilian telephone operator Oi), Hispasat Brazil and associated companies Galileo Systems and Services. The range of Hispasat shareholders demonstrates the company's strategic nature both for the government and the Spanish telecommunications market. In 2012, Hispasat's shareholders included representatives from the Spanish public sector, State Industrial Holding Company (SEPI) with 7.41%, and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) with 1.85%, and Abertis, a group that specialises in the management of telecommunication's infrastructure and services, with 90.74%. On 21 February 2012, the press were informed that Telefónica would sell Abertis its shares in Hispasat, and the Spanish government authorised the sale in December 2012. Abertis bought 16.42% of Hispasat from the Spanish Ministry of Defence on 25 July 2013, taking its stake in the company to 57.05% – with France's Eutelsat holding 33.69%, Spain's SEPI 7.41% and the country's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology 1.85%. Abertis sold its stake in Hispasat to Red Eléctrica de España, in February 2019. In early 2025, Red Electrica sold all its shares to Indra Sistemas.

Satellites

Launched satellites Source: Hispasat official web site.

Cancelled satellites

R+D+I projects

Ignis: The IGNIS project (integral communications system for the control of forest fires) is part of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation's Innpacto project. It was launched in September 2011 with the main objective of developing short-term solutions to improve the telecommunications used while fighting forest fires. Saturno: Hispasat is coordinating the SATURNO Project (SATellite Universal Redistribution NetwOrk). SATURNO is a tractor project, included within the Spanish government's 2010 Plan Avanza for R+D Competitiveness, the plan's main objective is to investigate innovative solutions for content distribution via satellites in the digital home to maximise use of existing infrastructure and develop necessary equipment and systems. Solutions developed as part of SATURNO are based on the use of high-speed IP technologies and the reuse of domestic cabling. Jedi: The JEDI project (Just Exploring DImensions) started in 2010 with the objective of improving knowledge regarding the different formats and technologies related to 3D TV and how it will evolve and develop for consumers. JEDI is part of a European research project, ITEA 2, which forms part of the European EUREKA initiatives. Hispasat participates in the European JEDI consortium and is also a partner in the Spanish JEDI consortium collaborating on research and development projects under the aegis of Plan Avanza. Phidias: PHIDIAS (Hybrid Platform for the Intelligent Diffusion of Applications and Services for Television) is an Avanza Plan project. Its objective is the development of an integrated platform for hybrid broadcast broadband television (HbbTV) that combines the broadcast and broadband delivery of television through the Internet. The aim is to investigate different alternatives for technological solutions for HbbTV by developing specific applications (social networks, personalised advertising, interactive applications etc.). The ultimate objective is to produce a working model for both terrestrial and satellite television. Intogener: Hispasat participates in the INTOGENER Project to design a system to more precisely measure the flow of water in mountain watersheds with the objective of making the generation of hydroelectric power more efficient and sustainable. The project started in May 2012 and will be carried out in the Chilean Andes for a period of two years with a budget of over a million euros, with 50% of the budget coming from the European Space Agency (ESA). Other collaborators include Starlab, as the project's coordinator, Endesa Chile, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the consultancy Future Water, which will provide the remaining 50% of the project's budget.

Illustrations

Second and former Hispasat logo, used from 2001 until May 2017

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hispasat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hispasat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hispasat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hispasat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hispasat

In research: Hispasat appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hispasat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hispasat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Communications satellite operators, Direct broadcast satellite services, Free-to-air, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hispasat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hispasat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hispasat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hispasat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hispasat in simple terms?

Why does Hispasat matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hispasat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hispasat.