Arianespace to Launch All-Electric Eutelsat 172B Satellite in 2017
Evry, France, July 31, 2014 — European space telecommunications operator Eutelsat has chosen Arianespace to launch its 172B satellite. EUTELSAT 172B will be equipped with a multi-beam payload covering the Asia-Pacific region, designed specially to support in-flight connectivity services aboard airliners.
The Eutelsat 172B satellite will be launched by an Ariane 5 in 2017 from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
This will be the 28th satellite lofted into orbit by Arianespace for Eutelsat.
EUTELSAT 172B will carry three separate payloads: a C-band payload, a Ku-band payload to cover five high-performance zones (North Pacific, Northeast Asia, Southeast Pacific and South Pacific) and an innovative multi-beam Ku-band payload designed specifically to support broadband in-flight services. This new payload will be the first in the Asia-Pacific region designed specially to deliver connectivity onboard aircraft.
The all-electric propulsion Eutelsat 172B satellite will have a mass at liftoff of roughly 3.5 tons. It will be built by Airbus Defence and Space and released into an orbit at 172° East.
“Eutelsat chose Arianespace because we were able to meet all the needs of our customer, especially a firm launch schedule. We are extremely proud to have won this new contract from Eutelsat, confirming the confidence that this major operator has shown in Arianespace over the past 30 years. This choice once again underlines the competitiveness of our offer for launching satellites in the 3.5-ton class, as well as the fact that the Ariane 5 launcher is perfectly adapted for lifting all-electric satellites into orbit. This project is part of the “New Industrial France” program to develop all-electric satellites. I want to thank the Minister of the Economy, Industrial Recovery and Digital Economy, the State Secretary for Higher Education and Research, as well as the CNES space agency and the French General Commission for Investment (CGI) for their support for this exciting initiative. France’s space community has clearly demonstrated its unity and ability to innovate as a team,” said Stéphane Israël, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace.
About Arianespace
Arianespace is the world’s leading satellite launch company. Founded in 1980, Arianespace deploys a complete family of three launchers, Ariane, Soyuz and Vega, to meet the needs of both commercial and government customers, with more than 250 launches already. Backed by its 21 shareholders and the European Space Agency, Arianespace is the only company in the world capable of launching all types of payloads into all orbits, from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. As of July 29, 2014, Arianespace had carried out 218 Ariane launches, 34 by Soyuz (8 at the Guiana Space Center and 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, via Starsem) and 3 by Vega. Arianespace is headquartered in Evry, near Paris, and has a facility in Kourou, French Guiana, plus local offices in Washington D.C. (United States), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore. www.arianespace.com
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