Viasat KA-SAT at 9° East

Eutelsat KA-SAT was a high-throughput telecommunications satellite owned by Eutelsat. The satellite provides broadband Internet access services across Europe and also a small area of the Middle-East, and additionally the Saorsat TV service to Ireland. It is positioned at 9° East joining the Eutelsat’s Eurobird 9A Ku-band satellite.

KA-SAT was manufactured by EADS Astrium (Airbus Defense & Space), based on their Eurostar E3000 platform, with a total weight of 6 tons. The satellite was launched on December 26th, 2010 on a Proton M launch vehicle operated by launch operator ILS. The satellite is named after the Ka-band frequency, which is used on the spacecraft.

KA-SAT will be able to provide broadband Internet access to potentially more than one million homes. Eutelsat invested about €350 million in the program, including the satellite manufacturing and launch.

KA-SAT features a high level of frequency reuse enabling the system to achieve a total capacity of more than 90 Gbit/s. The introduction of KA-SAT has tripled the total capacity commercialized by Eutelsat.

In November 2020 satellite operator Viasat purchased the controlling stake of 51% in Euro Broadband Infrastructure (EBI) including the KA-SAT satellite from Eutelsat. The transaction would strengthening Viasat’s market penetration for European Broadband activities.

Viasat KA-SAT at 9° East

Eutelsat KA-SAT under construction

ILS Proton-M erected

ILS Proton launching Eutelsat KA-SAT

Viasat KA-SAT at 9° East

Viasat KA-SAT at 9° East

Eutelsat KA-SAT coverage

Eutelsat KA-SAT Ka-band Combined Downlink Coverage