Eutelsat has awarded Matra Marconi Space (MMS) a contract to build the Europesat 1B communications satellite.
The craft will be based on an MMS Eurostar bus and will be placed in a geostationary orbit at 29íE, the second of two orbital positions used by the European satellite communications organisation. The other slot is at 13íE.
Europesat 1B will be equipped with 36 Ku-band transponders and will generate up to 6kW of electrical power. The craft will be a direct copy of the Europesat 1A, originally called the Hot Bird 4, which was launched in February. MMS also built the Hot Birds 2 and 3 and the Hot Bird 5, which will be launched this autumn on an Atlas booster.
MMS has eight more satellites on its orderbook, with two others on hold. These are the ST-1, Afristar, Ameristar, Asiastar, Astra 2B, Intelsat K-TV, Skynet 4E and F.
Source: Flight International
