Eutelsat 8 West B and Intelsat 34 have been installed atop their launcher, completing the build-up process.
This clears the way for the final checkout, enabling the launch readiness review on Tuesday, August 18; followed by Ariane 5’s rollout to the Spaceport’s launch zone on Wednesday, and the next day’s liftoff on August 20.
Eutelsat 8 West B is positioned as the upper passenger on Ariane 5, and will be released first during the flight, followed by Intelsat 34’s deployment from the launcher’s lower payload position. The mission’s duration is just under 42 minutes from the South American liftoff to deployment of its two satellites.
Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Eutelsat 8 West B broadcast relay platform will be operated by Eutelsat and the Egyptian satellite company Nilesat, bringing powerful new satellite broadcasting resources to the Middle East and North Africa – primarily to serve direct-to-home markets. This 5.8-metric-ton-class relay platform also will introduce a C-band mission to the 8 degrees West orbital slot, covering the African continent and reaching to South America.
SSL (Space Systems Loral) produced the 3.3-metric-ton Intelsat 34 spacecraft, which will be utilized by satellite services provider Intelsat for the media distribution requirements of leading programmers for Latin America. It also will support advanced broadband coverage for maritime and aeronautical providers serving the North Atlantic. Intelsat 34 will operate
from an orbital slot of 304.5 degrees East.
