Eutelsat 9B

Eutelsat 9B is a European Space Agency-certified communications satellite operated by Eutelsat, a leading satellite operator based in Paris, France. The satellite is part of the Eutelsat fleet, which includes Eutelsat 5 West A, Eutelsat 7A, and Eutelsat 10A, providing services to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Eutelsat 9B was built by Thales Alenia Space, a major space manufacturer with facilities in Cannes, France, and Turin, Italy, in collaboration with Astrium, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space. The satellite's development involved partnerships with ESA, CNES, and DGA, ensuring compliance with European Space Agency standards.

Overview

The Eutelsat 9B satellite is designed to provide telecommunications services, including television broadcasting and broadband internet access, to a wide range of customers, from broadcasters like BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera to telecom operators such as Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom. The satellite's coverage area spans Europe, including Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as parts of Africa and the Middle East, reaching countries like Egypt, South Africa, and Turkey. Eutelsat 9B is also equipped to support data transmission services for government agencies, such as the European Commission, NASA, and the United Nations, and corporate networks like those of IBM, Microsoft, and Google.

Spacecraft

The Eutelsat 9B spacecraft is based on the Spacebus 4000 platform, a reliable and versatile satellite bus developed by Thales Alenia Space. The satellite's payload consists of Ku-band transponders provided by Thales Alenia Space and Astrium, which enable the transmission of television channels and broadband internet services to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The spacecraft is powered by solar panels and batteries supplied by Saft, a leading battery manufacturer based in France. The satellite's propulsion system is equipped with ion thrusters developed by Snecma, a subsidiary of Safran, and chemical thrusters provided by Astrium.

Launch

The Eutelsat 9B satellite was launched on January 30, 2016, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan using a Proton-M/Briz-M launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS), a leading launch services company based in United States. The launch was carried out in collaboration with Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, the manufacturer of the Proton-M rocket. The launch vehicle placed the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit, from which it used its ion thrusters to reach its final geostationary orbit position at 9°E.

Mission

The primary mission of Eutelsat 9B is to provide telecommunications services, including television broadcasting and broadband internet access, to customers in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The satellite is designed to support a wide range of applications, from broadcasting services for television networks like BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera to broadband internet access for telecom operators such as Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom. The satellite's mission duration is expected to be at least 15 years, during which it will operate in conjunction with other Eutelsat satellites, including Eutelsat 5 West A, Eutelsat 7A, and Eutelsat 10A, to provide seamless telecommunications services to customers across the region.

Specifications

The Eutelsat 9B satellite has a launch mass of approximately 5,300 kilograms and is equipped with 66 Ku-band transponders with a total bandwidth of 56 MHz. The satellite's power consumption is around 12 kW, which is provided by solar panels and batteries supplied by Saft. The spacecraft is 4.8 meters tall and 2.3 meters wide, with a span of 31.7 meters when its solar panels are deployed. The satellite's propulsion system consists of ion thrusters developed by Snecma and chemical thrusters provided by Astrium, which enable the satellite to maintain its geostationary orbit position and perform station-keeping maneuvers. Category:Communications satellites