Hot Bird 2 --> Eurobird 9 --> Eutelsat W48

EUTELSAT

International Sat. n°:

EUTELSAT satellite n°: 12

Orig PL Name: Eutelsat HB2
Renamed Eurobird 9 in May 2007, and renamed again to Eutelsat W48 in late 2009.

Launch data:

Designation:	24665 / 96067A
Launch date	21 Nov 1996 - 20:47 UT
Launch site	CC, LC-36A
Launch vehicle:	Atlas-2A (AC-124 #103)
Mission:	Commercial: Communications (Direct Broadcasting)
Geostationary orbit on:
Perigee / Apogee	35757 x 35815 km
Eccentricity	6,88E-04
Inclination	0.08 deg
Period	1436.07 min

It seems that the satellite has a fuel tank leak, which has been detected by abnormal fuel consumption. On 21 Mar 2000 the satellite stopped transmitting around 18:30 UT. Service was restored around 02:00 UT on 22 Mar 2000. The satellite apparently went into safe mode.

Specifications

Prime contractor	British Aerospace and Matra Marconi --> Astrium
Platform	Eurostar-2000+
Operator	EUTELSAT
Mass at launch	2915 kg
Dry mass	1700 kg
Payload mass	268 kg: transponders: 192 kg, antennas: 76 kg
Dimension	2.5 x 1.7 x 2.6 m
Equipment	20 Ku-band transponders
Solar array	2 deployable solar arrays,
Stabilization	3-axis
Propulsion	R-4D-11-300
DC power	equinox: 5500 W, solstice: 4988 W
Payload power	4188 W
Design lifetime	14 yrs - still active

Telemetry: 2264.818 MHz
Beacon: 11.702200 GHz

Location

Begin	End	Position	Remarks
L: 21 Nov 1996	05 Dec 1996	29°E
16 Dec 1996		13°E
24 Feb 2009	-	~8°E	manoeuvred off-station and starting drifting to the east.
?		48°E
July 2010		9.08°E

Ku-band (11.45-11.7 GHz & 11.7-12.5 GHz)

Main transponders	20
Backup transponders	10
Power	110 W (TWTA)
Bandwidth	20 transponders of 33 MHz (12 GHz) 5 transponders of 36 MHz (11 GHz) 1 transponder of 72 MHz (11 GHz)
Coverage	super beam: Europe from West to East wide beam: from the Canary Islands to the republics South of Russia and Gulf countries Transponders switchable one by one on each zone
EIRP max	Superbeam: 53 dBW Widebeam: 50 dBW
Polarization	linear H/V
Frequencies	Uplink: 13.8-14.0 GHz and 17.3-18.1 GHz

6 transponders in 12 GHz can be switched in 11 GHz and the 36 MHz transponders can be operated in half-transponder mode.

Transponder frequency chart (GHz)

Horizontal Uplink	Horizontal Downlink	Transponder	Vertical Downlink	Vertical Uplink	Bandwidth
	11.554410	32/D1		13.85441	36 MHz
13.87516		37/D2	11.575160		36 MHz
	11.595910	33/D3		13.89591	36 MHz
13.91666		38/D4	11.616660		36 MHz
	11.658333	34/D5		13.95833	72 MHz
13.95816		39/D6	11.658160		36 MHz

17.32748		50/E1	11.727480		33 MHz
	11.746660	51/E2		17.34666	33 MHz
17.36584		52/E3	11.765840		33 MHz
	11.785020	53/E4		17.38502	33 MHz
17.40420		54/E5	11.804200		33 MHz
	11.823380	55/E6		17.42338	33 MHz
17.44256		56/E7	11.842560		33 MHz
	11.861740	57E8		17.436174	33 MHz
17.48092		58/E9	11.880920		33 MHz
	11.900100	59/E10		17.50010	33 MHz
17.51928		60/E11	11.919280		33 MHz
	11.938460	61/E12		17.53846	33 MHz
17.55764		62/E13	11.957640		33 MHz
	11.976820	63/E14		17.57682	33 MHz
17.59600		64/E15	11.996000		33 MHz
	12.015180	65/E16		17.61518	33 MHz
17.63436		66/E17	12.034360		33 MHz
	12.053540	67/E18		17.65254	33 MHz
17.67272		68/E19	12.072720		33 MHz
	12.091900	69/E20		17.69190	33 MHz

Mission details:

Hot Bird 2, launched in 1996 and renamed Eurobird 9 in 2007, was moved from 9E to 48E and renamed again to Eutelsat W48.

Ref: #7(JR619), #14, #15, #225(0903), #226 - update: 02.11.11