Eutelsat selected Alcatel to build a new HOT BIRD 7A communications satellite. The original HOT BIRD 7 satellite was lost during a launch in December 2002. In addition to the original specifications, HOT BIRD 7A’s mission has been expanded to provide additional back-up and replacement capacity at Eutelsat’s key orbital slot, 13 degrees East. The new satellite will be based on Alcatel Space’s Spacebus 3000 B3 platform. Launch is planned for the autumn of 2005.
http://www.alcatel.com
- On 11-December-2002, Arianespace’s first Ariane 5 rocket carrying a 10-ton payload for Eutelsat and the French space agency CNES failed soon after launch from Kourou, French Guinea. The Ariane 5 rocket and its Hotbird 7 satellite were purposefully destroyed at an altitude of about 69 kilometers and a distance of 800 kilometers off the coast of French Guiana. HOT BIRD 7, a direct-broadcast television satellite, was designed as an early replacement for an existing Eutelsat broadcasting satellite that will now continue in service. The Ariane 5 rocket was also carrying STENTOR, a telecom technology demonstration satellite for the French space agency.