EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS Headed to Kourou Launch Site
The EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS satellite, the largest satellite to be put into orbit by Eutelsat Communications, is now on its way by boat to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana for a planned September 6 launch on board an Ariane 5 rocket.
"It will deliver 230 beams over Western Europe and is equipped with a Digital Transparent Processor of 5th generation which will give a considerable advantage in terms of frequency flexibility onboard."
Pascal Homsy, Chief Technical Officer at Eutelsat.
EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS is a very high throughput satellite built by Thales Alenia Space designed to deliver high-speed broadband and mobile connectivity across Europe. With a Ka-band capacity of 500 Gbps, EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS is the largest geostationary satellite ever ordered to date in Europe and will embark the most powerful on-board digital processor, offering capacity allocation flexibility and an optimal spectrum use.
This new-generation satellite, offering a capacity seven times that of its brother satellite EUTELSAT KONNECT launched in 2020, comes with several major firmly committed customers for satellite broadband connectivity, namely Orange via its Nordnet affiliate for the French coverage, Telecom Italia Mobile over Italy and Thales Alenia Space to serve notably the government connectivity services. These commitments showcase the ability of satellites to provide an attractive solution for bridging the digital divide, at a time when access to connectivity plays a major role in both economic and social development.
"With EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS we are bringing connectivity to a next level. Defying the odds, it is the most powerful satellite to join the Eutelsat fleet. It will deliver 230 beams over Western Europe and is equipped with a Digital Transparent Processor of 5th generation which will give a considerable advantage in terms of frequency flexibility onboard," said Pascal Homsy, Chief Technical Officer at Eutelsat. "A state-of-the-art piece of the finest technology built by our partners Thales Alenia Space that I would like to hereby acknowledge as EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS sets off for the Guiana Space Center.”
"EUTELSAT KONNECT VHTS is the satellite of all superlatives for a crucial mission aiming to bridge the digital divide by providing connectivity everywhere in Europe," said Marc Henri Serre, EVP Telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space. "It is the most capacitive satellite ever built by Thales Alenia Space and our teams provided all the state-of-the art technologies to make it possible. We are really proud to see it ready for shipment to the launch pad and are eager to start the launch campaign.”
(Image provided with Eutelsat news release)