Eutelsat Orders W3B Satellite From Thales Alenia Space

[Satellite Today – 2-26-08] Thales Alenia Space will manufacture the W3B satellite for Eutelsat, the companies announced Feb. 26.
    The spacecraft, scheduled for launch in the 2010 second quarter, will be co-positioned with Eutelsat’s W3A satellite at 7° East and carry 56 transponders that will increase the number of operational transponders in the neighborhood by more than 50 percent, Eutelsat said.
    W3B will provide Ku-band coverage of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East as well as sub-Saharan African and the Indian Ocean islands.