Eutelsat 36B (formerly Eutelsat W7) is a

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

in the W series operated by

Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat's satellit ...

. It is co-located with

Eutelsat 36A Eutelsat 36A (formerly Eutelsat W4 and Eutelsat 3 F-4) is a French communications satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications. It was constructed by Alcatel Space and is based on the Spacebus-3000B2 satellite bus. Launch Eutelsat W4 was ...

satellite at 36° East. It was launched on 24 November 2009, at 14:19:10 UTC, by a

Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

Satellite description

Eutelsat and

Alcatel Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

announced in December 2006 that the two companies have signed a contract under which

will manufacture and deliver the Eutelsat W7 communications satellite. Manufactured by

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

in its

Cannes Mandelieu Space Center The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both the towns of Cannes and Mandelieu in France. After a long history in aircraft manufacturing, starting in 1929, the center became increa ...

, based on a Spacebus-4000C4

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...

, it features up to 70

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

transponders, 12 kW of power, a weight of , and has a lifetime of about 17 years (2009-2026). Eutelsat 36B is one of the most powerful spacecraft in the fleet of Eutelsat.

Digital broadcasting Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital signals rather than analogue signals for broadcasting over radio frequency bands. Digital television broadcasting (especially satellite television) is widespread. Digital audio broadcasting is ...

and

direct-to-home Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commo ...

(DTH) video services is beamed to customers in Russia and

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. The new satellite replaced all the capacity on the SESAT 1 (now

Eutelsat 16C Eutelsat 16C (formerly SESAT 1) is a satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications, originally the first of a series of SESAT ( Siberia - Europe SATellite) satellites. It provides a wide range of telecommunications services over a very large ...

) satellite, which was redeployed to 16° East after nearly 10 years of operations at 36° East. Eutelsat 36B communications payload is connected to five downlink beams for Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Eutelsat 36B is expected to be replaced by

Eutelsat 36D Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat's satellite ...

, currently scheduled for launch in late 2024.

References

External links

EUTELSAT 36B

EUTELSAT 36B Coverage maps at Satbeams

IMS
Official provider's site Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 2009 Satellites using the Spacebus bus Eutelsat satellites {{communications-satellite-stub