Eutelsat lofts Hotbird 13G into orbit

Satellite operator Eutelsat has successfully launched its Hotbird 13G satellite on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral.

Eutelsat Hotbird 13G is the second of two satellites built by Airbus Defence and Space to be placed at Eutelsat’s flagship 13° East position, replacing three older satellites.

The satellite is based on the Eurostar Neo telecommunications satellite platform, developed under an ESA Partnership Project with Airbus designed to foster innovation and competitiveness in the European space industry.

Once into GEO orbit and positioned, the satellite will, with its twin Eutelsat Hotbirdd 13F, which was launched on October 15, reinforce and enhance the broadcast of TV channels into homes across Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East, Eutelsat said.

The operator said that the two satellites will offer advanced features in terms of uplink signal protection and resilience.

The craft also hosts the EGNOS GEO-4 payload for the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

This is part of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service that acts as an augmentation service to global positioning systems, to improve the reliability of positioning information.

Eva Berneke, Eutelsat CEO, said: “Eutelsat Hotbird 13G is now on its way to join Eutelsaat Hotbird 13F at our flagship 13° East position. We also look forward to completing the GNSS network for our European Union long term customer and partner, the EUSPA. My congratulations to the Eutelsat, Airbus and SpaceX teams for another successful launch into geostationary orbit.”