Eutelsat 139 West A. Photo: Eutelsat

Eutelsat has retired its Geostationary Orbit (GEO) communications satellite Eutelsat 139 West A after 22 years of service. 

The operator said in a Tuesday statement that the satellite completed orbit-raising maneuvers and was transferred to a graveyard orbit. The final command to the satellite was sent on April 12. 

The satellite was built by European satellite manufacturer Astrium, which later became part of Airbus, based on the Eurostar 3000 platform. It was launched in March 2004 as Eutelsat W3A and provided broadcasting and broadband services for 22 years under several commercial names. 

Eutelsat noted the satellite had a number of firsts. At the time of its launch it was the most powerful satellite Eutelsat had operated as the first Eurostar 3000 in orbit. It was also the first GEO mission to use lithium‑ion batteries, which are now standard. 

The satellite was designed to operate for 12 years but operated well beyond that, with Eutelsat reporting higher than 99.99% availability over its lifetime. 

“Maintaining a GEO satellite in service for more than 22 years with such outstanding availability is no accident. It speaks directly to the skill, commitment and pride of Eutelsat’s operations teams, whose careful stewardship allowed this spacecraft to deliver reliable service far beyond expectations,” commented Daniel Kroboth, vice president of Satellite Operations at Eutelsat.