Eutelsat Communications’ latest satellite is set to lift-off this Saturday (September 24), from the Sea Launch platform in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Atlantic Bird 7 will be delivered into orbit by a Zenit-3SL rocket at 13:18 Pacific Daylight Time (20:18 GMT, 22:18 CET), at the opening of a 74-minute launch window.
Built for Eutelsat by Astrium, the 4.6 tonne Atlantic Bird 7 satellite will replace Atlantic Bird 4A at 7 degrees West and deliver additional capacity for further expansion of services. Up to 50 Ku-band transponders will be connected to two beams giving superior coverage of the Middle East, North Africa and North-West Africa for digital broadcasting services.
High definition coverage of the launch will be carried from Eutelsat’s primary Hot Bird position at 13 degrees East for viewers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (downlink frequency 12149 MHz, vertical polarisation, Symbol rate: 27.500 Mbaud). A webcast will also be available via www.eutelsat.com and www.sea-launch.com. The launch transmission is scheduled to begin approximately 15 minutes before lift-off.
