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| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | Eutelsat |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-022A |
| SATCATno. | 39163 |
| Mission duration | 15 years (planned)[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Spacebus 4000[1] |
| Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space[1] |
| Launch mass | 5,470 kilograms (12,060 lb)[2] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 May 2013, 16:02 (2013-05-14UTC16:02Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Proton-M/Briz-M[2] |
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome200/39[2] |
| Contractor | International Launch Services |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 3° east[1] |
| Perigee altitude | 35,782 kilometres (22,234 mi)[3] |
| Apogee altitude | 35,805 kilometres (22,248 mi)[3] |
| Inclination | 0.05 degrees[3] |
| Period | 1436.14 minutes (23.935 hrs)[3] |
| Epoch | 24 January 2015, 05:09:19 UTC[3] |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 56 Ka and Ku transponders |
| Instruments | |
| Transponders, Footprints, and Frequency Bands | |
Eutelsat 3D is a communications satellite operated byEutelsat, provides services to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. It initially was located at 3° E in geosynchronous orbit in a fixed point above the equator, where Eutelsat already has two satellites,Eutelsat 3A andEutelsat 3C. WhenEutelsat 3B was launched in 2014 this satellite was moved to 7°E.
The satellite has four footprints and broadcasts on both theKa band and theKu band. Three footprints serve Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa in both Ka and Ku bands. The fourth footprint coverssub-Saharan Africa but only in Ku band. It has 56 transponders in total. The satellite was built byThales Alenia Space using their spacebus 4000satellite bus.[1][4]
The satellite was launched byInternational Launch Services from pad 39 atSite 200 atBaikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch used a Proton-M rocket with a Briz-M upper stage. The first three stages of the Proton fire for the first 9 minutes, 42 seconds. After that the Briz-M upper stage takes over with five separate burns until the spacecraft separates from the upper stage 9 hours and 13 minutes after launch.[5]
The satellite launched on 14 May 2013 at 16:02 UTC and was successfully placed intogeostationary transfer orbit.[6] It was given theInternational Designator 2013-022A and the USsatellite catalog reference 39163.[7]
