Ariane 5 Rocket Sucessfully Launches Eutelsat 8 and Intelsat 34
Kourou, French Guiana, August 20, 2015--The 225th launch of the Ariane 5 rocket successfully placed two telecommunication satellites, Eutelsat 8 and Intelsat 34 in geostationary transfer orbits on August 20, following lift off from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
This is the fourth successful launch this year for Airbus Safran Launchers, which is the prime industrial contractor for Ariane 5 and future Ariane 6. It is the 67th consecutive successful launch for Ariane 5.
Intelsat 34 is a C- and Ku-band satellite to be placed into service at the 304.5ºE orbital location. It will replace Intelsat 805 and Galaxy 11 as the third in Intelsat’s leading Latin America, pan-regional video distribution neighborhood (which includes Intelsat 11 and Intelsat 21). Intelsat 34 includes a C-band payload which will deliver media distribution services for blue chip media powerhouses including Fox Sports and HBOLA. The satellite also hosts a leading Direct-to-Home (“DTH”) platform in Ku-band as well as a specialized Ku-band payload serving the North Atlantic that will support broadband services for the fast growing aeronautical and maritime mobility sector. Intelsat 34 was built by SSL.
EUTELSAT 8 West B is equipped with 40 physical Ku-band transponders* designed primarily to serve Direct-to-Home TV markets in North Africa and the Middle East to increase capacity and in-orbit security at the premium 7/8°West video neighbourhood. It will also introduce a C-band mission, with 10 physical transponders* connected to footprints covering the African continent and reaching west to South America.
