Eutelsat Communications is currently investigating a malfunction on one of the two solar arrays on its newly launched EUTELSAT 5 West B satellite. The satellite operator is working to assess the potential impact on the performance of the satellite and will communicate on it as quickly as possible, according to a company statement.
The statement also added that EUTELSAT 5 West B is fully insured against the eventuality of loss by a launch-plus-one-year insurance.
Built by Airbus Defence and Space and Northrop Grumman, EUTELSAT 5 West B is intended to serve video markets in Europe and North Africa from the key 5° West orbital position where it will replace the EUTELSAT 5 West A satellite, providing business continuity and improved service quality via a Ku-band payload of 35 equivalent 36 MHz transponders.
As part of a long-term agreement signed in 2017 with the European GNSS Agency (GSA), EUTELSAT 5 West B will also host the GEO-3 payload of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS), used to improve the performance of global navigation satellite systems such as GPS and Galileo.
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