Eutelsat 8 West B

Eutelsat 8 West B is a geostationary communications satellite. Operated by Eutelsat, it provides direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services from geostationary orbit. The satellite is part of Eutelsat's constellation at a longitude of 8° West. Eutelsat announced the order of a new Spacebus-4000C3 satellite bus from Thales Alenia Space in October 2012.

Eutelsat 8 West B

Names	Nilesat 104B
Mission type	Communications
Operator	Eutelsat
COSPAR ID	2015-039B
SATCAT no.	40875
Website	www.eutelsat.com/en/home.html
Mission duration	15 years (planned) 9 years, 11 months, 23 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Eutelsat 8 West B
Spacecraft type	Spacebus
Bus	Spacebus-4000C3
Manufacturer	Thales Alenia Space
Launch mass	5,782 kg (12,747 lb)
Power	watts
Start of mission
Launch date	20 August 2015, 20:34:08 UTC
Rocket	Ariane 5ECA (VA255)
Launch site	Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-3
Contractor	Arianespace
Entered service	October 2015
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	8° West
Transponders
Band	50 transponders: 10 C-band 40 Ku-band
Coverage area	South America, Africa, Middle East
Eutelsat constellation ← Eutelsat 115 West B Eutelsat 9B →

Satellite description

Eutelsat 8 West B is a 5,782 kg (12,747 lb) satellite with a design life of 15 years. It is equipped with an S400-12 apogee motor which was used for initial orbit-raising manoeuvres and an S10-18 engine for station keeping burns.^[1] The spacecraft has 10 C-band and 40 Ku-band transponders.^[2]

Launch

Eutelsat 8 West B was launched on the Ariane 5ECA launch vehicles from Centre Spatial Guyanais at the Kourou in French Guiana. Liftoff occurred at 20:34:08 UTC on 20 August 2015,^[3] with the launch vehicle successfully injecting its payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The launch was conducted by Arianespace.

Mission

Following launch, the satellite Eutelsat 8 West B used its apogee motor to raise itself into geostationary orbit, positioning itself at a longitude of 8° West. Capacity leased by Nilesat is marketed as Nilesat 104B.^[2]