Amazonas Reaches Geostationary Orbit

According to EADS Astrium, the Amazonas spacecraft successfully performed early operations, and it now is in geostationary orbit. The satellite was designed and built by the company for Hispasat. The satellite has 51 transponders and will provide a full range of telecom and business services to Brazil, North and South America along with a transatlantic link to Europe. CEO Antoine Bouvier commented, “This is a major event for EADS Astrium as Amazonas is the third Eurostar E3000 model launched this year. Amazonas is the largest satellite as well as the most powerful satellite ever ordered by Hispasat. All over Europe our teams and our expertise were mobilized to make this event a success.”

Amazonas is a key part of Hispasat’s Latin America strategy, as it increasingly looks to derive revenues from the region. Last week, Hispasat CEO, Jacinto Garcia Palacios revealed to Satellite News, sister publication to Satellite Today, that the operator already had sold 27 percent of the capacity on Amazonas.