Eutelsat Konnect

Eutelsat Konnect

Company type	Communications satellite
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	January 16, 2020 (2020-01-16)
Products	Broadband internet and communication services
Parent	Eutelsat

Template:Infobox spaceflight

Eutelsat Konnect is a geostationary communications satellite under the operation of Eutelsat. It was developed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space using the Spacebus NEO 100 platform. The satellite was launched on 16 January 2020 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA. Its mission is to deliver broadband internet and communication services across both Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

History

The initial order for this advanced communications satellite, initially referred to as the African Broadband Satellite, was placed by Eutelsat in October 2015. This acquisition formed part of Eutelsat's strategic expansion into the African telecommunications market. The launch contract was secured by Thales Alenia Space with Arianespace, scheduling deployment via an Ariane 5 ECA rocket, sharing the flight with another payload, the GSAT-30, following customary dual-launch procedures.

Spacecraft

Constructed on the Spacebus NEO 100 electric platform, Eutelsat Konnect benefits from financial and technical support provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and France’s CNES agency. This platform not only enhances communication capacity but also achieves substantial cost savings in manufacturing relative to earlier geostationary satellites. The satellite is equipped with a high-throughput Ka-band payload, delivering a total capacity of 75 Gbps through an array of 65 focused spot beams.

Launch

Eutelsat Konnect was deployed on 16 January 2020 at 21:05:00 UTC via an Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle. This mission also carried the communications satellite GSAT-30, operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Roughly 28 minutes following liftoff, Eutelsat Konnect detached from the SYLDA payload adapter and was inserted into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

External links

• Official website