Eutelsat announced Thursday its HOT BIRD 8 telecom satellite built by EADS Astrium has arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, for launch on a Proton M Breeze M vehicle provided by International Launch Services in early August.
The launch currently is scheduled for Aug. 4 or Aug. 5.
Weighing 4.9 tons and equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders, HOT BIRD 8 will be the largest satellite yet orbited by Eutelsat, the company said in a news release.
Designed for television and radio broadcasting, the new satellite will be positioned at 13 degrees east longitude, from which the company currently delivers 950 television channels and 600 radio stations to 110 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
HOT BIRD 8's mission is to replace the 20 transponders on HOT BIRD 3, which will continue service at a new location. In conjunction with HOT BIRD 7A, which was launched in February 2006, it also will contribute to raising in-orbit redundancy in Eutelsat's HOT BIRD geostationary neighborhood.
