The EUTELSAT 70B satellite built by Astrium has now reached its launch location in the Pacific Ocean, ready for launch by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch on Monday 3 December 2012.
The satellite left the Astrium facilities in Toulouse, France, on 16 October 2012 and was transported by air to Long Beach, CA, where it has been fuelled and encapsulated in the Zenit-3SL fairing before the launch platform departed on 17 November for the equatorial launch site at 154°W longitude.
Astrium, Europe's leading space technology company, is prime contractor for the Eurostar E3000-based satellite, which will operate up to 48 active transponders in Ku-band. Astrium will also be in charge of flight operations and specialised support during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations.
Once in geostationary orbit and upon completion of in-orbit tests, EUTELSAT 70B will be positioned at 70.5°E where it will more than double current capacity for data and government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges.
Its four high-performance fixed beams focus over a zone which covers: Europe, Africa, Central Asia and South-East Asia reaching as far as Australia. Through a high degree of on-board connectivity, clients will be able to use the beams either for regional coverage or to interconnect continents.
The EUTELSAT 70B satellite is based on Astrium's highly reliable Eurostar E3000 product line, with a launch mass of 5200 kg and a spacecraft power of 12 kW at the end of its 15 year design lifetime.
EUTELSAT 70B is the 29th Eurostar E3000 satellite, and the seventh for Eutelsat fleet.
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