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Eutelsat
Selects
Astrium
To
Deliver
Atlantic
Bird™
7
Satellite
For
7
Degrees
West
Video
Neighbourhood
14
May
2009
Eutelsat
Communications
has
selected
Astrium
to
deliver
its
new
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7
satellite
for
7
degrees
West.
Scheduled
for
launch
in
4th
quarter
2011,
the
satellite
will
be
located
at a
key
neighbourhood
for
digital
broadcasting
markets
in
the
Middle
East
and
North
Africa,
which
Eutelsat
operates
in
close
collaboration
with
the
Egyptian
satellite
operator
Nilesat.
The
launch
vehicle
will
be
selected
by
Eutelsat
at a
later
stage.
Following
the
launch
and
entry
into
service
of
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7 at
7
degrees
West,
Eutelsat
will
redeploy
the
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
4A
satellite
currently
at
this
position
to
the
Group's
premium
broadcasting
neighbourhood
at
13
degrees
East,
where
it
will
revert
to
its
original
name
of
HOT
BIRD™
10.
Eutelsat
has
been
operating
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
4A
at 7
degrees
West
since
March
this
year
as
part
of
the
first
phase
of
boosting
broadcasting
capacity
at
this
neighbourhood.
Over
450
television
channels
already
broadcast
from
7
degrees
West
to
an
audience
of
38
million
homes.
By
increasing
the
volume
of
Eutelsat's
operational
Ku-band
transponders
at 7
degrees
West
from
26
to
up
to
50,
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7
will
virtually
double
the
Group's
in-orbit
resources
at
this
position.
This
new
capacity
will
be
brought
into
operation
alongside
the
Nilesat
101
and
102
satellites
operated
by
Nilesat,
which
are
scheduled
to
be
joined
in
mid-2010
by
Nilesat
201.
Within
the
framework
of
this
collaboration
the
two
companies
have
agreed
to
jointly
brand
7
degrees
West
as
the
"NILEBIRD"
neighbourhood.
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7
will
be
based
on
Astrium's
Eurostar
E3000
platform.
Optimised
for
high-growth
broadcasting
markets,
two
beams
will
give
superior
coverage
across
the
Middle
East,
including
Gulf
states,
as
well
as
North
Africa
and
North-West
Africa.
- Up to 44 Ku-band transponders will be connected to a broad high-power footprint serving the Middle East and North Africa for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting.
- A second footprint for North-West Africa, across the Maghreb countries and extending down to the Gulf of Guinea, will be connected to a payload of up to 12 Ku-band transponders designed for consumer broadcasting services and equipped to meet high demand for Internet access services.
Eutelsat
Communications
first
announced
the
commissioning
of a
new
satellite
for
the
7
degrees
West
neighbourhood
in
February
on
the
occasion
of
its
first-half
results
for
the
2008-2009
financial
year.
This
satellite
forms
part
of
the
Group's
capital
expenditure
programme
for
2008-2011,
which
amounts
to a
total
investment
over
the
period
of
450
million
euros
on
average
per
year.
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7 is
the
18th
satellite
ordered
by
Eutelsat
from
Astrium.
Its
scheduled
in-orbit
lifetime
exceeds
15
years.
ATLANTIC
BIRD™
7
vital
statistics
Platform:
Astrium
Eurostar
E3000
Width
with
solar
panels
deployed:
33 m
Mass
at
launch:
4.6
tonnes
Power
at
end-of-life:
12
kW
Operational
lifetime:
15
years
+
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