Successful Launch of
EUTELSAT 10B: A Satellite Bringing New Inflight and
Maritime Connectivity Services
Eutelsat Communications has
announced that the EUTELSAT 10B satellite was
successfully launched into Geostationary Transfer
Orbit by American space launch provider SpaceX using
a Falcon 9 expendable rocket that lifted off from
Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA at 21.57 pm Eastern
time on November 22nd (corresponding to 2.57 am UTC
and 3.57 am CET on November 23rd). 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.
Built by Thales Alenia Space,
EUTELSAT 10B is an all-electric satellite based on
the Spacebus NEO platform. The satellite embarks a
powerful 5th generation digital transparent
processor, offering capacity allocation flexibility
and an optimal spectrum use.
Responding to strong growth in
demand for mobile connectivity, EUTELSAT 10B is
carrying two multi-beam HTS Ku-band payloads: a
high-capacity payload, covering the North Atlantic
corridor, Europe, the Mediterranean basin and the
Middle East, offering significant throughput in the
busiest air and sea traffic zones, and a second
payload to extend coverage across the Atlantic
Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean. The satellite’s
HTS payloads will be able to process more than 50
GHz of bandwidth, offering a throughput of
approximately 35 Gbps.
Firm multi-year capacity
commitments have already been secured with several
leading in-flight connectivity service providers,
representing more than one third of the incremental
HTS capacity. These partners will rely on EUTELSAT
10B to provide airlines with in-flight connectivity
services.
The 10° East location that
EUTELSAT 10B will occupy has been operated by
Eutelsat since 1987 and provides unrivalled coverage
in the heart of the European, Middle Eastern and
African regions. The EUTELSAT 10B satellite
specifically carries two widebeam payloads in C-band
and in Ku-band to ensure continuity of the missions
of the EUTELSAT 10A satellite, whose operational
life is scheduled to end in 2023.
Eva Berneke, Eutelsat Chief
Executive Officer, said: "Congratulations to all the
teams, from Thales Alenia Space to SpaceX, and the
dedicated Eutelsat launch campaign team, involved in
this successful launch. EUTELSAT 10B satellite
boosts our global connectivity services with High
Throughput capacity, meeting increasing in-flight
and maritime demand.”
Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat Chief
Technical Officer, added: “This is the fourth launch
for Eutelsat in just under three consecutive months,
quite a remarkable and unequalled technical
achievement; congratulations to all! 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.”
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