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Three Astrium satellites onboard the next Ariane 5

* The HOT BIRD ^TM 10 satellite is the third in a series of large broadcast satellites for Eutelsat
* The two Spirale satellites will enable Astrium to be the first in Europe to demonstrate a space-based, ballistic missile early warning system
* Astrium is prime contractor for the Ariane 5 rocket and three of the four satellites

Kourou, 10 February 2009

Astrium is the prime contractor for three satellites that will be placed into orbit by the next Ariane launch: the HOT BIRDTM 10 broadcast satellite for Eutelsat, and the two satellites of the Spirale demonstrator for the French Armament Procurement Agency (DGA). Teams from Astrium are completing preparations on the three satellites at the Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana. The scheduled launch date is 12 February 2009.

The HOT BIRD™ 10 satellite is the third in a series of large, identical satellites built for Eutelsat benefiting from a total redundancy of 102 repeaters from the operator’s prime position at 13°E. The 102 repeaters operated at this position broadcast over 1100 TV channels to 120 million households.

HOT BIRD™ 8, 9 and 10 each have 64 Ku-band transponders – three times the capacity of the previous generation of HOT BIRD™ satellites, which were launched ten years ago. HOT BIRD™ 8, which was launched in August 2006, is still the most powerful European satellite that is operational in orbit. HOT BIRD™ 9, which was placed into orbit by the last Ariane 5 launch on 20 December 2008, has been successfully deployed and is currently completing its in-orbit tests.

HOT BIRD™ 10 is the 41st Eurostar satellite and the 16th satellite based on the Eurostar E3000 platform - which was first orbited successfully in 2004.

SPIRALE was manufactured for the DGA and is the French acronym for "Preparatory System for IR Early Warning". The programme covers the supply and operation of a complete system able to collect and analyse infrared imagery against a land background for the validation of an early warning system. After processing and analyzing the collected data over an 18-month period, Astrium will be capable of establishing the characteristics and conditions for detecting ballistic missiles during their boost phase, just after launch. The ground control and operating segments are located in Toulouse, France, and will be operated by Astrium on behalf of the DGA during the operational phase.
About Astrium

Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems and services. In 2007, Astrium had a turnover of €3.5 billion and 12,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Its three main areas of activity are: Astrium Space Transportation for launchers and orbital infrastructure, Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground systems, and its wholly owned subsidiary Astrium Services for the development and delivery of satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2007, EADS generated revenues of €39.1 billion and employed a workforce of more than 116,000.

Contacts for the media

Matthieu Duvelleroy
EADS Astrium (FR)
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 77 75 80 32
Daniel Mosely
EADS Astrium (UK)
Tel.: +44 (0)1 438 77 8180
Ralph Heinrich
EADS Astrium (GER)
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 33971
Francisco Lechón
EADS Astrium (ESP)
Tel.: +34 (0) 91 586 37 41
www.astrium.eads.net