Spacex Sucesfully Launches Eutelsat 117 and ABS 2A but Fails to Land Falcon 9 Rocket

Cape Canaveral, Florida,  June  16, 2016 –Spacex successfuly launched the EUTELSAT 117 West B satellite. and the ABS-2A satellites. The satellite was ferried into space by a Falcon 9 rocket that took off from SpaceX’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral at 10.29 ET (14.29 UTC) and parked EUTELSAT 117 West B in a supersynchronous orbit after a 30-minute flight. The first telemetry from the new satellite has been confirmed and processed at Boeing’s Mission Control Centre in El Segundo, California.

The Falcon 9 rocket successfully boosted two communication satellites into orbit, but the booster failed to land on the drone ship off the Florida coast.

The ABS-2A satellite is the second of the pair of the innovated all-electric propulsion satellites, manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems International.  It is equipped with an all Ku-band payload of 48 high performance transponders connecting Africa, MENA, Russia, South Asia and South East Asia regions.  ABS-2A will be co-located with ABS-2 and will deliver enhanced broadcast and data services from 75°E.

“The launch of ABS-2A represents a significant milestone for ABS. Today we launched the third of our three satellite build strategy which completes a $700M capex program. ABS-2, ABS-3A and ABS-2A are extremely capable satellites which have been optimized for CATV and DTH services. Satellites are unmatched by any other forms of technology for video distribution and it has been ABS’s intention to strategically build satellites that have been designed for this purpose. ABS’s video business has grown from 10% of our business in 2012 to 45% today. With the launch of ABS-2A, the second satellite to our premium DTH neighborhood at 75°E, we will be offering our customers expansion capacity and in-orbit redundancy for their growing DTH businesses. We would like to thank our technology partners Boeing and SpaceX for making today’s achievement possible and we also thank the US EXIM bank for believing in our vision and providing financing for all of our satellites,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS.

EUTELSAT 117 West B’s electric propulsion system will now be prepared for orbit-raising that is scheduled to start on 18 June and last for approximately seven months. The satellite will then undergo in-orbit tests prior to commercial entry into service at 117° West in Q1 2017.

Equipped with 48 Ku-band transponders, EUTELSAT 117 West B’s four distinct regional beams will provide premium coverage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, South America and the Southern Cone. The satellite will strengthen video capacities at 117° West and offer key services to telecom operators and government service providers in Latin America.

EUTELSAT 117 West B also features a payload for Raytheon to enable the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase GPS signal accuracy from 10 metres to 1-2 metres, thereby enhancing aviation safety for users in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the continental United States including Alaska. The WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) payload on EUTELSAT 117 West B is the first to be included on an all-electric satellite.

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