Eutelsat W5
| Names | Eutelsat W1 (pre-launch) Eutelsat W5 (2002-12) Eutelsat 70A (2012-13) Eutelsat 25C (2013-14) Eutelsat 33B (2014—) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Telecommunications |
| Operator | Eutelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 2002-051A |
| SATCAT no. | 27554 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | 12 years |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Spacebus-3000B2 |
| Manufacturer | Aérospatiale (with DASA, Alenia & SSL (Space Systems/Loral)) |
| Launch mass | 3,170 kilograms (6,990 lb) |
| BOL mass | 1,900 kilograms (4,200 lb) |
| Dry mass | 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) |
| Power | 5,900 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 November 2002, 22:39:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta IV-M+(4,2) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-37B |
| Contractor | Boeing |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 70° East (2002-2013) 25° East (2013—) |
| Perigee | 35,787 kilometres (22,237 mi) |
| Apogee | 35,800 kilometres (22,245 mi) |
| Period | 1,436.50 minutes |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 24 Ku band |
| Coverage area | Western Europe Central Asia India |
Eutelsat 33B, formerly known as Eutelsat W5, Eutelsat 3F1, Eutelsat W1, Eutelsat 70A and Eutelsat 25C, is a telecommunications satellite owned by Eutelsat Consortium. Eutelsat W5 provides coverage to Western Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East. The satellite can use either 6 steerable beams or 2 fixed beams to provide the coverage. Eutelsat 70A was used to provide video distribution and contribution links, occasional-use video as well as Internet backbone connections.
Eutelsat 70A was the first satellite to be launched by a Delta IV rocket. The launch was originally scheduled for January 2001, but was delayed several times due to developmental problems with the Delta IV rocket.
Eutelsat 70A was built by Aérospatiale and is a Spacebus 3000 satellite. The satellite measures 4.6 m (15 ft) x 2.5 m (8.2 ft) x 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and has a span of 29 m (95 ft) on orbit. Eutelsat 70A features 3 axis stabilization to help keep it stable and pointed at the earth at all times. It features 24 Ku band transponders.
Eutelsat 70A has suffered numerous problems. The first was during testing, when the factory where it was being built caught fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be a carbon fiber wall which got too hot when the antennas were pointed at it and turned up on full power. The satellite was covered in water causing extensive damage.
On 27 March 2007, Eutelsat 70A began drifting west at a rate of 0.004° per day. It is not known why this began to happen.
On 16 June 2008, a power generation anomaly occurred and 4 transponders were permanently lost. It was later revealed that 1 of the 2 solar panels was lost (the array's drive motor failed).
In 2013 it was replaced by Eutelsat 70B at 70E and was then moved to 25E where it was renamed to Eutelsat 25C.
In October 2015, Eutelsat 33B was deactivated because of the loss of its second solar panel.
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