Eutelsat 5 West B is a geostationary communications satellite. It is owned by European satellite communications company Eutelsat. It launched on October 9, 2019, at 10:17 UTC on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur CosmodromeinKazakhstan.[7] The satellite was built by Northrop Grumman and Airbus Defence and Space and has an expected operational life of more than 15 years. Situated at 5° west, it broadcasts satellite television, radio and other digital data. It was scheduled to enter operational service at the end of 2019, but deployment difficulties delayed service.
Mission type | Communications |
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Operator | Eutelsat |
COSPAR ID | 2019-067A[1] |
SATCAT no. | 44624![]() |
Website | www |
Mission duration | more than 15 years (anticipated)[2] |
Spacecraft properties | |
Bus | GEOStar-2e [3] |
Manufacturer | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) for Satellite bus and Airbus Defence and Space for Payload[4] |
Launch mass | 2,740 kilograms (6,040 lb) [5] or 2,864 kilograms (6,314 lb) [6] |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 9 October 2019, 10:17 (2019-10-09UTC10:17Z) UTC |
Rocket | Proton/Briz-M |
Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric |
Regime | Geostationary |
Transponders | |
Band | 35 Ku |
Coverage area | Europe, North Africa |
On 24 October 2019 Eutelsat released a statement saying the company was investigating an incident on one of the bird's two solar arrays.[8]
On 17 January 2020 Eutelsat issued a statement saying that one of the two arrays was unusable, and the resulting power shortage meant that the satellite could operate at only 45% capacity. The satellite was expected to enter service in late January 2020. The satellite was planned to replace the Eutelsat 5 West A. However, due to the power shortage, Eutelsat 5 West A ultimately remained operational for longer than originally planned in a fuel-saving inclined orbit. This extension was one part of the mitigation activities. Eutelsat 5 West B's problems was projected to cost Eutelsat several million euros. Eutelsat had not decided (as of January 17) the size of the ensuing insurance claim.[9]
The European GNSS Agency's GEO-3, a hosted payload of the Eutelsat West B, was not affected by the power loss and was expected to function normally. It entered service on February 14, 2020.[10]
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