Eutelsat 5 West B

Eutelsat 5 West B
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorEutelsat
COSPAR ID2019-067A[1]
SATCAT no.44624Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.eutelsat.com/en/satellites/eutelsat-5-west.html
Mission durationmore than 15 years (anticipated)[2]
Spacecraft properties
BusGEOStar-2e [3]
ManufacturerNorthrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) for Satellite bus and Airbus Defence and Space for Payload[4]
Launch mass2,740 kilograms (6,040 lb) [5] or 2,864 kilograms (6,314 lb) [6]
Start of mission
Launch date9 October 2019, 10:17 (2019-10-09UTC10:17Z) UTC
RocketProton/Briz-M
Launch siteBaikonur Cosmodrome
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeostationary
Transponders
Band35 Ku
Coverage areaEurope, North Africa

Eutelsat 5 West B is a geostationary communications satellite. It is owned by European satellite communications company Eutelsat. It launched on October 9, 2019, at 10:17 UTC on a Proton-M rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.[7] The satellite was built by Northrop Grumman and Airbus Defence and Space and has an expected operational life of more than 15 years. Situated at 5° west, it broadcasts satellite television, radio and other digital data. It was scheduled to enter operational service at the end of 2019, but deployment difficulties delayed service.

Problems

On 24 October 2019 Eutelsat released a statement saying the company was investigating an incident on one of the bird's two solar arrays.[8]

On 17 January 2020 Eutelsat issued a statement saying that one of the two arrays was unusable, and the resulting power shortage meant that the satellite could operate at only 45% capacity. The satellite was expected to enter service in late January 2020. The satellite was planned to replace the Eutelsat 5 West A. However, due to the power shortage, Eutelsat 5 West A ultimately remained operational for longer than originally planned in a fuel-saving inclined orbit. This extension was one part of the mitigation activities. Eutelsat 5 West B's problems was projected to cost Eutelsat several million euros. Eutelsat had not decided (as of January 17) the size of the ensuing insurance claim.[9]

The European GNSS Agency's GEO-3, a hosted payload of the Eutelsat West B, was not affected by the power loss and was expected to function normally. It entered service on February 14, 2020.[10]

References

  1. ^ "EUTELSAT 5 WEST B Satellite details 2019-067A NORAD 44624". N2YO. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Future Satellite Eutelsat 5 West B" (PDF). Eutelsat. 27 September 2019. p. 2.
  3. ^ MEDIA ADVISORY: ILS PROTON TO LAUNCH EUTELSAT 5 WEST B / MEV-1 SATELLITES (07/10/2019)
  4. ^ Eutelsat 5 West B (eutelsat.com)
  5. ^ "Eutelsat 5 West B Factsheet (northropgrumman.com)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  6. ^ MEDIA ADVISORY: ILS PROTON TO LAUNCH EUTELSAT 5 WEST B / MEV-1 SATELLITES (07/10/2019)
  7. ^ "Proton rocket ride-share launches Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle". NASASpaceflight.com. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-17..
  8. ^ "Eutelsat statement on EUTELSAT 5 West B (Press release / Oct 24, 2019)". Archived from the original on October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Power loss halves Eutelsat 5 West B capacity, hosted payload spared". SpaceNews.com. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  10. ^ "EGNOS payload enters service on EUTELSAT 5 West B". Mynewsdesk. 14 Feb 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.


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