BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan - A Proton Breeze M launch vehicle successfully placed the HOT BIRD™ 8 satellite into orbit 5 Aug 2006, for the fourth launch of the year for International Launch Services (ILS).
The launcher lifted off at 3:48 a.m. Saturday local time (23:48 Friday CET, 21:48 Friday UTC, 17:48 Friday EDT). The mission lasted 9 hours and 11 minutes before HOT BIRD™ 8 was released into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite is a Eurostar E3000 model built for Eutelsat by EADS Space. From its final orbital position of 13 degrees East longitude, HOT BIRD™ 8 will serve customers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Hot Bird™ 8 has a Ku-band downlink in the 10.7-12.7 GHz range. HOT BIRD™ 8 is the largest and most powerful European Ku-band broadcast satellite to go into geostationary orbit.
International Designator: 2006-032A/SSC #29270
Photo - artist rendering of the 13 deg east Hotbird orbital slot (Courtesy of Eutelsat).
