The two new high-power HOTBIRD 13F and HOTBIRD 13G satellites have entered commercial service at Eutelsat’s 13° East video neighbourhood, releasing the three satellites previously located at 13° East, to carry out new missions.
HOTBIRD 13F and 13G are reinforcing and enhancing the broadcast quality of around nine hundred television channels into more than 156 million homes across Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. These new state-of-the-art satellites are also bringing advanced features to 13° East, including in-orbit redundancy ability and uplink signal protection and resilience. Built by manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space, the satellites are based on the new generation Eurostar Neo telecommunications satellite platform, developed under an ESA partnership project with Airbus designed to foster innovation and competitiveness in the European space industry.
Particular to HOTBIRD 13G, the satellite hosts the EGNOS GEO-4 payload, pertaining to the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). The payload enables the EUSPA to deliver reliable and secure space-based services and provides additional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) service capabilities within and beyond the European Union, supporting a growing number of users.