Satellite Assembly, Integration and Tests: All Astrium communications satellites - civil or military - are assembled, integrated and tested (AIT) at the company's Toulouse site, in the Astrolabe and Intespace cleanrooms, the component parts having arrived from sites in France, Germany, Spain and the UK.
Satellites cannot be tested in flight, so tests have to take place during assembly which simulate the extreme conditions of the launch and orbital environment as realistically as possible. The spacecraft AIT process lasts between six and nine months, depending on the complexity of the satellite.
