Eutelsat 12 West B

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Eutelsat 12 West B
Names Atlantic Bird 2 (2001?2012)
Eutelsat 8 West A (2012?2015)
Mission type Communications
Operator Eutelsat
COSPAR ID 2001-042A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no. 26927
Website www .eutelsat .com /en /home .html
Mission duration 12 years (planned)
19 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Atlantic Bird 2
Spacecraft type Spacebus
Bus Spacebus-3000B2
Manufacturer Alcatel Space
Launch mass 3,150 kg (6,940 lb)
Dry mass 1,368 kg (3,016 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date 21 September 2001, 23:21 UTC
Rocket Ariane 44P H10-3 (V144)
Launch site Centre Spatial Guyanais , ELA-2
Contractor Arianespace
Entered service November 2001
End of mission
Disposal Graveyard orbit
Deactivated October 2020
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Geostationary orbit
Longitude 8° West (2001?2015)
12.5° West (2015?2020)
Transponders
Band 26 Ku-band
Coverage area Americas, Europe
 

Eutelsat 12 West B , known as Atlantic Bird 2 prior to 2012 and Eutelsat 8 West A from 2012 to 2015, was a geostationary communications satellite . Operated by Eutelsat , it provides direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services from geostationary orbit . The satellite is part of Eutelsat constellation at a longitude of 8° West, then 12.5° West. Eutelsat announced the order of a new Spacebus-3000B2 satellite bus from Alcatel Space in October 2012.

Satellite description [ edit ]

Atlantic Bird 2 was a 3,150 kg (6,940 lb) satellite with a design life of 12 years. It is equipped with an S400-12 apogee motor which was used for initial orbit-raising manoeuvres and an S10-18 engine for station keeping burns. [1] The spacecraft has 26 Ku-band transponders . [2]

Launch [ edit ]

Atlantic Bird 2 was launched on the Ariane 44P launch vehicles from Centre Spatial Guyanais at the Kourou in French Guiana . Liftoff occurred at 23:21 UTC on 21 September 2001, [3] with the launch vehicle successfully injecting its payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The launch was conducted by Arianespace .

Mission [ edit ]

Following launch, the satellite Atlantic Bird 2 used its apogee motor to raise itself into geostationary orbit, positioning itself at a longitude of 8° West. In December 2011, Eutelsat announced, that their satellite assets will be renamed under a unified brand name effective from March 2012. This satellite became Eutelsat 8 West A at 8° West. In 2015, it was moved to 12.5° West and named Eutelsat 12 West B . It has been moved to a graveyard orbit in October 2020. [2]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ "Hot Bird 6 / 2002 ? 038A" . Spacecraft Propulsion Heritage . EADS Astrium. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013 . Retrieved 4 October 2013 .
  2. ^ a b Krebs, Gunter (22 October 2020). "Atlantic Bird 2 → Eutelsat 8 West A → Eutelsat 12 West B" . Gunter's Space Page . Retrieved 16 April 2021 .
  3. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (14 March 2021). "Launch Log" . Jonathan's Space Page . Retrieved 16 April 2021 .

External links [ edit ]

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