Hot Bird 9
Encyclopedia
Hot Bird 9 is a communications satellite
operated by Eutelsat
, launched 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA
carrier rocket along with the Eutelsat W2M
spacecraft. It was built by EADS Astrium
, based around a Eurostar E3000 satellite bus
. It was positioned in geosynchronous orbit
at 13°E. After in-orbit testing it will provide communications services to Europe
, North Africa
and the Middle East
, with 64 NATO J-band
(IEEE Ku band
) transponder
s.
The satellite has a mass of 4,880 kilograms, and an expected service life of 15 years. It is identical to the Hot Bird 8 and Hot Bird 10 satellites.
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
operated by Eutelsat
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites...
, launched 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
carrier rocket along with the Eutelsat W2M
Eutelsat W2M
Eutelsat W2M is a W Series European communications satellite, which was launched on 20 December 2008 aboard an Ariane 5ECA carrier rocket along with the Hot Bird 9 spacecraft. It was built by EADS Astrium, based around an I3K satellite bus provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation...
spacecraft. It was built by EADS Astrium
EADS Astrium
Astrium Satellites is one of the three business units of Astrium, a subsidiary of EADS. It is a European space manufacturer involved in the manufacture of spacecraft used for science, Earth observation and telecommunication, as well as the equipment and subsystems used therein and related ground...
, based around a Eurostar E3000 satellite bus
Satellite bus
A satellite bus or spacecraft bus is the general model on which multiple-production satellite spacecraft are often based. The bus is the infrastructure of a spacecraft, usually providing locations for the payload .They are most commonly used for geosynchronous satellites, particularly...
. It was positioned in geosynchronous orbit
Geosynchronous orbit
A geosynchronous orbit is an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period that matches the Earth's sidereal rotation period...
at 13°E. After in-orbit testing it will provide communications services to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, with 64 NATO J-band
J band
J band can refer to two different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in the radio and near-infrared.-Radio:The J band is the range of radio frequencies from 10 GHz to 20 GHz in the electromagnetic spectrum. This is equal to wave lengths between...
(IEEE Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
) transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
s.
The satellite has a mass of 4,880 kilograms, and an expected service life of 15 years. It is identical to the Hot Bird 8 and Hot Bird 10 satellites.