Eutelsat’s Hot Birdtm 8 Satellite Arrives At Baikonur Cosmodrome For August Proton Launch

Paris, 6 July 2006, The HOT BIRDTM 8 broadcasting satellite built by EADS Astrium for Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) arrived this morning at the Baikonur Cosmodrome for launch on a Proton M Breeze M vehicle provided by ILS. Launch is scheduled in the night of 4 to 5 August.

Weighing in on the launchpad at 4.9 tonnes and equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders, HOT BIRD™ 8 will be the largest satellite yet orbited by Eutelsat. Designed for television and radio broadcasting it will be positioned at 13 degrees East, Eutelsat’s prime video neighbourhood, which delivers 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The satellite’s mission is to replace the 20 transponders on the HOT BIRD™ 3 satellite, which will continue service at a new location. In conjunction with HOT BIRD™ 7A, which was launched in February 2006, it will also contribute to raising in-orbit redundancy at Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood.

Prime contractor EADS Astrium
Platform Eurostar 3000
Mission TV and radio broadcasting
Orbital position 13 degrees East
Coverage Europe, North Africa, Middle East
Launcher Proton M Breeze M
Span in-orbit 39 m with solar panels deployed
Launch mass 4875 kg
Life span More than 15 yrs
Payload 64 Ku-band transponders
Electric power 13 kW
Downlink frequencies 10.70 - 12.75 GHz

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 nearly 1,800 TV and 900 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.

About EADS Astrium
EADS Astrium is Europe’s leading satellite system specialist. Its activities cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and equipment. EADS Astrium is a subsidiary of EADS SPACE. In 2005 EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.7 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services.
In 2005, EADS generated revenues of €34.2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.

Contact Information

Vanessa O’Connor

Press Contact

Eutelsat Communications

Contact via E-mail