Sea Launch and Eutelsat Sign New Launch Services Agreement

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[Satellite TODAY 06-18-13] Sea Launch and Eutelsat announced the finalization of an agreement to launch the Eutelsat 3B spacecraft in April 2014, using Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL launch system to liftoff from the company’s ocean-based Odyssey launch platform.

Currently under construction by Astrium, an EADS company, Eutelsat 3B is based on the Eurostar–3000 platform. Operating in C-, Ku- and Ka-bands, the satellite has been designed with high levels of operational flexibility to serve video, data, Internet and telecom customers across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South America. It will operate from Eutelsat’s orbital slot located at 3 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit and have a separated launch mass of more than six metric tons.

Eutelsat and Sea Launch have worked together in the past. In 2011, Sea Launch successfully placed the Eutelsat 7 West A in orbit, and in 2012 the Eutelsat 70B. “This new contract increases the flexibility we need to pursue our in-orbit expansion plan of six new satellites by end 2015 that will diversify our overall resources, increase our operational flexibility and further raise in-orbit security,” said Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO.