The first of Eutelsat's three new Siberia Europe Satellites (SESAT) has been shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite is set to be launched on a Proton DM booster on 17 April.
The satellite was built by Russia's NPO-PM company with an 18 Ku-band transponder communications payload provided by Alcatel Space,
With a widebeam footprint stretched over Europe, western Siberia, North Africa and the Middle East, and a steerable spotbeam over India, SESAT will enable the European communications satellite organisation to consolidate its position in its core markets and open its first gateway to the Indian subcontinent.
SESAT 1 is the first of seven satellites to be launched by Eutelsat over the next two years as part of a far-reaching $1 billion expansion and replacement programme. The other four satellites include Hot Bird 6, which will be the first to carry a Ka-band communications payload, and Eutelsat W4, which is scheduled for the maiden International Launch Services Atlas 3 launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida next month.
The maiden flight of the Atlas 3A booster, built by Lockheed Martin and powered by modified Russian RD-180 engines, had been delayed from 14 April to the middle of May.
This is to allow more tests on the W4 satellite's propulsion system. The extra time will let Lockheed Martin re-check the interface loads on the Centaur's upper stage onboard venting system.
Meanwhile, Eutelsat has established a new multimedia programme to bring together its existing Internet, bandwidth-on-demand and mobile telephone services and new generation broadband solutions under development, including webcasting and personal television.
Source: Flight International
