Eutelsat release
EUTELSAT's HOT BIRD™ 8 BROADCAST SATELLITE SPEEDS INTO ORBIT
Paris , 5 August 2006
The HOT BIRD™ 8 broadcast satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext
Paris: ETL) was successfully launched today by a Proton Breeze M launch
vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 03.48 am Baikonur time August 5
(23.48 CET August 4; 21.48 GMT August 4). Weighing in on the launch pad
at 4.9 tonnes, HOT BIRD™ 8 is the largest and most powerful European
Ku-band broadcast satellite to go into geostationary orbit.
In less than 10 minutes after lift-off, the three-stage Proton vehicle
supplied by International Launch Services (ILS) finished its climb into
space, leaving the Breeze M upper stage to continue its mission for the
next nine hours. The Breeze M's engine underwent five burns to place the
EADS Space-built satellite into a transfer orbit. The satellite was
separated this morning from the Proton launch vehicle at 06.59 GMT with
signal acquisition established by Eutelsat from its Rambouillet teleport
near Paris . Manoeuvres that will be conducted over the next days
include full circularisation of the satellite's orbit and deployment of
the solar panels and antenna reflectors, which will be followed by a
series of in-orbit tests.
Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat Communications CEO said: “Equipped with a
payload which spans the entire range of frequencies at our 13 degrees
East position, HOT BIRD™ 8 takes our inter-satellite back-up to a new
level of security. We are looking forward to bringing our new broadcast
satellite into commercial service in October, less than six months since
HOT BIRD™ 7A went live at 13 degrees East. My particular thanks also go
to our industrial partners, EADS Space for completing this important
satellite programme and ILS for executing a faultless launch for our
company.”
HOT BIRD™ 8 will assume all broadcast traffic currently carried by the
20-transponder HOT BIRD™ 3 which will subsequently continue commercial
service at an alternative location. The new satellite's additional
capacity will contribute to raising in-orbit security at Eutelsat's HOT
BIRD™ video neighbourhood which broadcasts 950 digital channels to over
110 million cable and satellite homes across Europe, North Africa and
the Middle East.
About Eutelsat Communications
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234)
is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. The Group is a leading satellite
operator with capacity commercialised on 23 satellites providing
coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East,
Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas . The Group
is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of
revenues. Its satellites are used for broadcasting more than 2,100 TV
and 970 radio stations to more than 120 million cable and satellite
homes. The Group also provides TV contribution services, corporate
networks, mobile positioning and communications, Internet backbone
connectivity and broadband access for terrestrial, maritime and inflight
applications. Eutelsat Communications is headquartered in Paris , and
the Group's workforce comprises over 480 from 27 countries.
www.eutelsat.com
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