Eutelsat 5 West B is a geostationary communications satellite. It is owned by European satellite communications company Eutelsat. It launched on October 9, 2019, at 10:17 UTC on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.[7] The satellite was built by Northrop Grumman and Airbus Defence and Space and has an expected operational life of more than 15 years. Situated at 5° west, it broadcasts satellite television, radio and other digital data. It was scheduled to enter operational service at the end of 2019, but deployment difficulties delayed service.
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | Eutelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 2019-067A[1] |
| SATCAT no. | 44624 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | more than 15 years (anticipated)[2] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | GEOStar-2e [3] |
| Manufacturer | Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) for Satellite bus and Airbus Defence and Space for Payload[4] |
| Launch mass | 2,740 kilograms (6,040 lb) [5] or 2,864 kilograms (6,314 lb) [6] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 9 October 2019, 10:17 UTC |
| Rocket | Proton/Briz-M |
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 35 Ku |
| Coverage area | Europe, North Africa |
Problems
editOn 24 October 2019 Eutelsat released a statement saying the company was investigating an incident on one of the bird's two solar arrays.[8]
On 17 January 2020 Eutelsat issued a statement saying that one of the two arrays was unusable, and the resulting power shortage meant that the satellite could operate at only 45% capacity. The satellite was expected to enter service in late January 2020. The satellite was planned to replace the Eutelsat 5 West A. However, due to the power shortage, Eutelsat 5 West A ultimately remained operational for longer than originally planned in a fuel-saving inclined orbit. This extension was one part of the mitigation activities. Eutelsat 5 West B's problems was projected to cost Eutelsat several million euros. Eutelsat had not decided (as of January 17) the size of the ensuing insurance claim.[9]
The European GNSS Agency's GEO-3, a hosted payload of the Eutelsat West B, was not affected by the power loss and was expected to function normally. It entered service on February 14, 2020.[10]
References
edit- ^ "EUTELSAT 5 WEST B Satellite details 2019-067A NORAD 44624". N2YO. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Future Satellite Eutelsat 5 West B" (PDF). Eutelsat. 27 September 2019. p. 2.
- ^ MEDIA ADVISORY: ILS PROTON TO LAUNCH EUTELSAT 5 WEST B / MEV-1 SATELLITES (07/10/2019)
- ^ Eutelsat 5 West B (eutelsat.com)
- ^ "Eutelsat 5 West B Factsheet (northropgrumman.com)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
- ^ MEDIA ADVISORY: ILS PROTON TO LAUNCH EUTELSAT 5 WEST B / MEV-1 SATELLITES (07/10/2019)
- ^ "Proton rocket ride-share launches Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle". NASASpaceflight.com. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-17..
- ^ "Eutelsat statement on EUTELSAT 5 West B (Press release / Oct 24, 2019)". Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ^ "Power loss halves Eutelsat 5 West B capacity, hosted payload spared". SpaceNews.com. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- ^ "EGNOS payload enters service on EUTELSAT 5 West B". Mynewsdesk. 14 Feb 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
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