Eutelsat success for 65WA
March 9, 2016
By Chris Forrester
Arianespace successfully launched Eutelsat’s 65 West-A heavyweight satellite into space at 05.20am UTC on March 9th.
The satellite weighed in at 6615 kgs at launch, and was built by Space Systems/Loral. The craft will target Eutelsat’s Latino markets with high-power Ku, Ka and C-band capacity on board. Additionally, it can serve much of Western Europe as well as the Eastern seaboard of the USA, the Caribbean region and the Western states of the USA.
Eutelsat 65 W-A is the 31st launch to be carried out for the Paris-based operator by Arianespace.
Importantly, the satellite will be in position and ready to serve the Rio Olympic Games with live video links.
Arianespace Chairman and CEO Stéphane Israël said Eutelsat had been Arianespace’s “steadfast partner” since the companies both started in the early 1980s. “I therefore wish to express my deepest gratitude to Eutelsat for its trust in Arianespace,” he added, noting that Arianespace had three Eutelsat satellites in its backlog, and was ready to welcome many more.
“We fully enjoyed this,” said Eutelsat’s newly-installed Chief Executive Officer Rodolphe Belmer. “It was for me the first launch as CEO of Eutelsat, so as you could imagine, it was a very intense moment – and a great success,” he declared.