Broadband Internet From Space Extended With Tuesday's Satellite Launch

The Eutelsat 3D* telecommunications satellite, which will provide broadband internet for businesses, professional video networks and other data network, was successfully launched on a Proton rocket on Tuesday, May 14, by ILS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The large satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space for Eutelsat Communications, one of the world's leading providers of fixed satellite services (FSS).

The Russian built Proton launcher released EUTELSAT 3D into a geosynchronous transfer orbit, a long flight compared to a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) used for example by the ISS that took 9 hours and 13 minutes. The partial deployment of the satellite's solar panels was successfully carried out from Eutelsat's control centre in Rambouillet three hours and 15 minutes after separation from the rocket, confirming the success of the mission.

The Eutelsat 3D design is flexible and allows the satellite to operate from several orbital positions, increasing the flexibility of Eutelsat's orbital resources and bolstering its redundancy. Initially positioned at an orbital position known as 3* East, the satellite will operate from this slot until the arrival of Eutelsat 3B in 2014, and will then be moved to 7* East. Eutelsat 3D offers a wideregional coverage , including Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

Based on the Spacebus 4000 platform, Eutelsat 3D weighed 5,400 kg at launch. It offers a design life exceeding 15 years, and is already the 22nd Spacebus satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for Eutelsat.