Eutelsat Communications’ newest satellite has been successfully launched into Geostationary Transfer Orbit by American space launch provider SpaceX.
Eutelsat 10B lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 02.57 UTC this morning, courtesy of Elon Musk’s SpaceX using a Falcon 9 expendable rocket.
The separation of the all-electric satellite occurred after a 37-minute flight and the spacecraft systems checkout was then successfully completed over a period of approximately 3 hours.
The Thales Alenia Space-built craft features two multi-beam HTS Ku-band payloads: a high-capacity payload, covering the North Atlantic corridor, Europe, the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. It will offer coverage of one of the world’s busiest air and sea traffic zones.
“This is the fourth launch for Eutelsat in just under three consecutive months, quite a remarkable and unequalled technical achievement; congratulations to all,” said Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat Chief Technical Officer. “Eutelsat 10B’s Ku-band payload complements the Ka-band of the Eutelsat Konnect VHTS satellite, launched in September 2022, reflecting our ability to serve our customers in both Ka- and Ku-bands with the best-in-class space assets.
While there are video signals carried at 10 degrees East, Eutelsat’s messaging around the launch points clearly to its communications services.
