Eutelsat‘s Hot Bird 8 satellite was delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan July 6, in advanced of a scheduled Aug. 5 launch aboard a Russian Proton rocket, International Launch Services (ILS) announced.
The 4.9-ton satellite will be the largest satellite Eutelsat has orbited and is equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders to provide TV and radio broadcasting.
The mission had been set for May and was delayed after a February Proton failure left the Arabsat 4A satellite short of its intended orbit. A Russian State Commission and an independent review panel concluded that the Breeze M upper stage engine shut down prematurely, and corrective actions have been taken. The satellite was later deorbited.
“As we start the launch campaign, we acknowledge the confidence of our long-standing customer Eutelsat in the Proton M/Breeze M vehicle,” Mark Albrecht, president of ILS, said in a statement. “The Proton M launch vehicle has a 100 percent success rate, and the reliability of the Breeze M upper stage remains one of the highest in the industry.”
