Under a pre-existing contract, Eutelsat has assigned the launch of its Eutelsat 70B (aka W5A) communications satellite to Sea Launch to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2012. The launch will occur from Sea Launch's launch platform Odyssey at its equatorial launch site, located at 154° West longitude, in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean. The Eutelsat 70B satellite being built by Astrium (part of EADS) will use a bus based on the Eurostar-3000 platform. The 5,200kg satellite will have a minimum design life of 15 years. The satellite will have four regional beams connected to 48 Ku-band transponders and will be located over 70.5° East to provide data and government services, broadband access, GSM backhauling and professional video exchanges.
Source: Flight International
