Eutelsat Shifts 2010 Launch Schedule
Eutelsat’s W3B will be launched by Arianespace between August and September after Thales Alenia Space, the spacecraft’s prime contractor, renegotiated its previous launch arrangements with China in order to meet delivery schedules, Eutelsat announced Feb. 18.
W3B was scheduled to launch on a Chinese Long March rocket. Eutelsat will reallocate the launch of its W3C spacecraft to China between June and September 2011.
The W3B and W3C satellites aim to enable Eutelsat to renew and expand video service resources at the 16 and 7 degrees East orbital slot over Europe, Turkey and the Indian Ocean region.
Eutelsat also announced that its European Ka-band satellite, Ka-Sat, will be launched by ILS on a Proton rocket between November and January. The pan-European Ka-band satellite aims to deliver optimized consumer broadband services to more than 1 million homes beyond the range of high-speed terrestrial networks