EADS Space announced Monday that Eutelsat's HOT BIRD 8 broadcast satellite has been prepared for a launch from Baikonur currently scheduled for Aug. 5 at 3:48 a.m. local time. Based on EADS SPACE's Eurostar E3000, HOT BIRD 8 is the most powerful satellite ever ordered to serve Europe, the company said in a news release.
It will be lifted into orbit aboard a Proton Breeze M rocket provided by International Launch Services of McLean, Va.
The new satellite will join Eutelsat's HOT BIRD system at Eutelsat's prime video neighborhood, which delivers 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110-million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Designed to cover all the frequencies of the 102 transponders positioned at 13 degrees east longitude, HOT BIRD 8 could substitute for any of the other satellites at this location.
Equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders, HOT BIRD 8 has a capacity almost three times that of the previous-generation HOT BIRD satellites, the EADS Space release said.
The satellite will operate with a payload power in excess of 11 kilowatts.
As prime contractor for HOT BIRD 8, EADS SPACE designed and built the satellite, including the Ku-band payload and the platform.
The satellite is a Eurostar E3000 model equipped with a two-level communications module, an all-chemical propulsion system and lithium-ion batteries. It will have a launch weight of almost 5 metric tons.
The solar panels, spanning 39 meters (127 feet) when it is unfolded in orbit, will provide more than 14 kilowatts of electric power. HOT BIRD 8 is designed to have a 15-year service life in orbit.
To date, 43 Eurostar satellites have been ordered, 29 of which already have been launched successfully. Six Eurostar E3000s are currently operating in orbit, while nine more are in production.
