The Eurobird 10 satellite (formerly Hotbird 3), which was moved to a new orbital position of 10 degrees East on the night of 3/4 October, has suffered a failure of one of its solar panels. The satellite is still operational, but with a reduced power and capacity. Eutelsat is working with the satellite’s makers, EADS Astrium, to investigate and hopefully fix the problem.
If the problem cannot be rectified, it would be a serious financial blow to Eutelsat, which already had bookings for 55 million euros worth of business for Eurobird 10. The satellite will still be functional, but it will be unable to operate as many transponders as planned.
(Source: SatellietNieuws.nl)
Eutelsat to redeploy Hot Birdâ„¢3 as Eurobirdâ„¢10 at 10 degrees East
