Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F Satellite Launched by SpaceX from Florida

The Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F satellite was successfully launched into Geostationary Transfer Orbit by SpaceX aboard a Falcon 9 rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 01.22 pm Eastern time on October 15th.

"This satellite brings the latest technology resources of the new Eurostar Neo platform at our leading 13-degree East position and confirms a long-term partnership between Airbus and Eutelsat."

Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat Chief Technical Officer.

The separation of the all-electric satellite occurred after a 35-minute flight and the spacecraft systems initialisation was successfully completed over a period of 3 hours.

Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F is one of two satellites built by manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space. The spacecraft is based on the Eurostar Neo telecommunications satellite platform, developed under an ESA Partnership Project with Airbus designed to foster innovation and competitiveness in the European space industry.

HOTBIRD 13F Will be Joined by HOTBIRD 13G Next Month

Once into orbit and positioned, the satellite Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F will, with its twin Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G which is scheduled to be launched next month, reinforce and enhance the broadcast of more than a thousand television channels into homes across Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Moreover, the satellites will offer advanced features in terms of uplink signal protection and resilience.

The two satellites will be replacing three older satellites at Eutelsat’s 13° East flagship neighborhood position.

"Our congratulations to the Eutelsat, Airbus and SpaceX teams for successfully launching our Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F satellite into geostationary orbit," said Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat Chief Technical Officer. "This satellite brings the latest technology resources of the new Eurostar Neo platform at our leading 13-degree East position and confirms a long-term partnership between Airbus and Eutelsat."

“It’s a huge new payload-centric product that is more competitive than anything we have previously done and Eutelsat Hotbird 13F is the first one to be launched. It is also a very big partnership venture with ESA, the French Space Agency (CNES) and the UK Space Agency," said François Gaullier, Head of Telecommunications Satellites at Airbus. "We would not have developed this product without their support, which sustains the overall European space industry. The investments made in this product line have created some 2200 long-term jobs as this satellite is the first of eight that have been ordered already.”

(Images provided with Eutelsat and ESA news releases)