Successful launch for Eutelsat's W7 satellite built by Thales Alenia Space
25 November 2009
Cannes, November 25, 2009 - Eutelsat’s W7 satellite was successfully launched last night by International Launch Services (ILS) from the Baïkonour Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan. Thales Alenia Space is the prime contractor of the spacecraft which will deliver services at the 36 degrees East longitude orbital position.
Based on the Thales Alenia Space powerful Spacebus 4000 C4 design, W7 has a launch mass of 5.6 tons. The satellite is equipped with up to 70 Ku-band transponders connected to five high-performance fixed and steerable beams serving Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Co-positioned with Eutelsat’s W4 satellite, which already serves anchor pay-TV operators in Russia, the Ukraine and sub-Saharan Africa, W7 will enable Eutelsat to double the resources available for digital video and telecommunications services in those regions. While replacing all the SESAT 1 capacity over Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, W7 will also offer new resources over southern Africa through a high-power fixed beam. It also has a steerable beam which is ideally suited for DTH applications.
With a payload power of 13.2 kW, W7 will be Eutelsat’s most powerful satellite to date and has a lifetime expectancy of at least 15 years.
"We are proud to have delivered a satellite at the cutting edge of innovation and W7 will be our most powerful in Eutelsat’s fleet so far. Also its configuration of high-performance and flexibility is a first", said Emmanuel Grave, Executive Vice President of Telecommunication of Thales Alenia Space. "As a long-standing partner to the European operator Eutelsat, we are totally committed to supporting them in their sustainable future growth by delivering technologies with outstanding performance."
W7 is the 17th satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Eutelsat. Two additional satellites are expected to be delivered to Eutelsat in the near future: W3B to be launched in 2010 and W3C in 2011.
About Thales Alenia Space
European leader in satellite systems and a major player in orbital infrastructures, Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio embody the two groups’ "Space Alliance". Thales Alenia Space sets the global standard in solutions for space telecoms, radar and optical Earth observation, defense and security, navigation and science. The company, which achieved revenues of Euro 2 billion in 2008, has a total of 7,200 employees located in 11 industrial sites in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
www.thalesaleniaspace.com
Thales Alenia Space Press Contacts
Florence Pontieux - Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 91 26 - florence.pontieux@thalesaleniaspace.com
Sandrine Bielecki - Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 - sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com
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