Eutelsat successfully launches first all-electric satellite

Satellite operator Eutelsat has successfully launched its all-electric Eutelsat 115 West B satellite. 

The Boeing-built craft was launched from Cape Canaveral on board a Falcon 9 launcher yesterday.

The satellite will be followed into orbit later this year by the all-electric Eutelsat 117 West B satellite. The latter will be located at 117° West to boost capacity for Latin America broadcast markets. The third pillar in Eutelsat’s expansion in the Americas will be Eutelsat 65 West A, to be launched in 2016 in advance of the Olympic Games in Brazil. It will feature high-power coverage of Brazil and Latin America in C, Ku and Ka-bands.

We are delighted to see Eutelsat 115 West B on its way into space and thank SpaceX for this successful launch. With this satellite we are trailblazing a new era of electric propulsion for orbit raising that opens opportunities for greater efficiency and higher competitivity. It’s another first in Eutelsat’s 30-year track record of innovation that propels our industry onto the next stage,” said Eutelsat chairman and CEO Michel de Rosen.

The Eutelsat 115 West B satellite will transform the service we can offer clients delivering data services that include broadband, cellular backhaul, VSAT solutions and social connectivity. In addition to delivering high-performance C and Ku-band capacity, our footprint will extend beyond Latin American markets into Canada and Alaska. Tonight’s launch reaffirms us more than ever as the satellite company of reference for the Americas,” said Patricio Northland, CEO of Eutelsat Americas.