Boeing has shipped the e-BIRD broadband satellite from its Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) manufacturing facility in El Segundo, Calif., to the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, where it is being prepared for a late August launch.
E-BIRD is the first Boeing satellite ordered by Paris-based Eutelsat S.A., one of the world's leading satellite operators. The spin-stabilized Boeing 376HP satellite will be lifted into orbit by Arianespace aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.
Destined for the 33 degrees East orbital slot, the all-Ku-band satellite is the first spacecraft optimized for two-way broadband Internet connectivity for users across a broad region of Europe and Turkey. The satellite carries 20 active transponders and is designed to generate at least 1.6 kilowatts of power through the end of its 10-year service life.
"e-BIRD is the most sophisticated Boeing 376 built to date, with the most advanced antenna ever used on a Boeing 376 satellite," said Dave Ryan, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International.
"Its planned use is a testament to the versatility of the Boeing 376 satellite design, which has gone from delivering basic voice telecommunications in its early days to this Internet application today."
Introduced in 1980, the Boeing 376 is a versatile, reliable spacecraft platform that is available in several configurations ranging from 800 to 2,000 watts and up to 24 transponders in C- or Ku-band, or a combination of both. E-BIRD is the 57th Boeing 376 ordered to date.
