Nilesat 201 will enable satellite operator Nilesat from Egypt to deliver digital Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV and radio broadcasting and high-speed data transmission services to North Africa and the Middle-East.

The satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center and is based on the Spacebus 4000B2 satellite bus. Operating in geosynchronous orbit, at a longitude of 7° West, the spacecraft has a design life of 15 years and a mass at launch of 3.2 tonnes. It is powered by solar arrays which will generate 5.9kW of electricity at the end of the spacecraft’s design life. It will carry 40 transponders, of which 24 will be Ku-band for broadcasting and 4 will be Ka-band.

Nilesat 201 was launched on August 4th, 2010, on an Ariane 5ECA rocket operated by launch operator Arianespace.