Alcatel Alenia Space has been boosted by the news that Eutelsat will retain it for the design, manufacturing, assembling, tests and on-ground delivery of the W2A satellite. Scheduled for launch in early 2009, the W2A satellite’s primary mission will be to extend Ku-band capacity for video, broadband and telecoms services in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and boost the C-band capacity available through Eutelsat’s fleet for services across Africa.

Based on the Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000C4 platform, W2A’s baseline mission comprises up to 46 transponders in Ku-band and a C-band payload of 10 transponders. The Ku- band payload will provide up to 37 transponders connected to a fixed widebeam serving Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The satellite is likely to have a lifetime of 15 years.