Eutelsat 13E (HOTBIRD 7A, Eurobird 9A, HOTBIRD 13E) at 13° East
| Position: | 13° East |
| Manufacturer: | Thales Alenia Space |
| Operator: | Eutelsat |
| Launch operator: | Arianespace |
| Launch vehicle: | Ariane 5ECA |
| Launch date: | 03/13/2006 |
| Expected lifetime: | 15+ Years |
The Eutelsat 13E (aka HOTBIRD 7A) satellite is located at 13° East, Eutelsat’s premium video neighbourhood for cable and satellite broadcasting in Europe, North Africa and the Middle-East. It will weighed about 4,000 kg at launch, and its solar panels will provide 10 kW of electrical power. HOTBIRD 7A has a design life of 15 years.
Together with HOTBIRD 13B and 13C, the satellites provide industry-leading levels of security and in-orbit redundancy for broadcast clients at 13° East. Equipped with 64 high-power Ku-band transponders spanning the entire range of 102 Ku-band frequencies at 13° East, the HOTBIRD satellites deliver customers exceptional levels of security for the development of digital entertainment services, HDTV and UHD channels.
The satellite was launched on March 13th, 2006 on an Ariane 5 launcher operated by launch operator Arianespace.
Alcatel Space (Thales Alenia Space) won in July 2003 a contract for the construction of the HOTBIRD 7A communications satellite. The order for this new satellite follows the loss of Hotbird 7 during launch in December 2002. In addition to the original specifications, HOTBIRD 7A’s mission has been expanded to provide additional back-up and replacement capacity at Eutelsat’s key orbital slot, 13° East. This expanded mission has led to the choice of a larger, more flexible satellite platform than for the original version.
HOTBIRD 7A will be based on Alcatel Space’s Spacebus-3000B3 platform. Launch is planned for the autumn of 2005, when the new satellite will join Eutelsat’s Hotbird family of satellites co-located at the 13° East slot and reaching 100 million houses, and currently broadcasting 676 video channels and 565 audio channels. Equipped with 38 Ku-band transponders of 33 MHz minimum each, HOTBIRD 7A will replace HOTBIRD 1. The other 20 transponders will be available for potential back-up and replacement capacity for the HOTBIRD 2, 3 and 4 satellites.
In February 2009 Eutelsat renamed HOTBIRD 7A in Eurobird 9A. In March 2012 Eutelsat renamed their satellite assets under a unified brand name. Eurobird 9A became Eutelsat 9A and later Eutelsat 13E when Eutelsat moved the satellite to 13° East.
Eutelsat 13E (HOTBIRD 7A, Eurobird 9A, HOTBIRD 13E) at 13° East
Eutelsat 13E (HOTBIRD 7A, Eurobird 9A, HOTBIRD 13E) at 13° East
Eutelsat E13E Satellite footprintEutelsat 13E (HOTBIRD 7A, Eurobird 9A, HOTBIRD 13E) at 13° East
