SpaceX F9 - Eutelsat 10B - CCSFS SLC-40 - 22/23 November 2022 (02:57 UTC)

[eeergo]

Discussion Thread for launch of Eutelsat's 10B.

NSF Threads for Eutelsat 10B : Discussion

November 22, 2022, at 9:57 pm EST (02:57 UTC on the 23rd), from CCSFS SLC-40 to GTO.  The Falcon 9 first stage 1049-11 will be expended.

Built by Airbus on the new Eurostar Neo platform.  4500kg.


Eutelsat 10B


Satellite in final integration:
https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S/status/1491329762132111361

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post; launch delay, possibly to no earlier than the end of 2022, with entry into service later in the first half of 2023.

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/22/02/b25681068/eutelsat-communications-first-half-2021-22-results

FLEET DEPLOYMENT

Nominal deployment programme

Compared to the last quarterly update in October 2021, the entry into service of KONNECT VHTS has been delayed from the first half to the second half of calendar 2023. Furthermore, while still expected within the H1 2023 window, the entry into service of the EUTELSAT 10B satellite has been delayed versus our previous expectations. This reflects the impact of both manufacturing delays and their knock-on effects, including pairing difficulties, related to launch rescheduling, in the context of global Covid crisis.

All other data remains unchanged.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

NextSpaceFlight lists a launch with a satellite for Eutelsat in November that will expend B1049.

Based on the Eutelsat launch schedule this could be any of 10B, Hotbird 13F, Hotbird 13G.  All of them are electric propulsion and due to enter service in either H1 2023 or Q2/Q3 2023.

[GWR64]

https://twitter.com/Eutelsat_SA/status/1541820384344956930

Always a delight to visit the facilities of @Thales_Alenia_S  in Cannes, France!
Eutelsat's Board of Directors, the Executive Committee & Eutelsat IGO, made the trip; a great opportunity to catch a👀of our 🛰 #EUTELSAT10B & #EUTELSAT #KONNECTVHTS in the clean rooms before 🚀.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post:

The Eutelsat 10B in-service date has now slipped from H1 2023 to Q3 2023.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220725005935/en/Eutelsat-Communications-Full-Year-2021-22-Results
[July 26]

I don't know if the launch date is also delayed into 2023.

[zubenelgenubi]

More regarding the launch of a Eutelsat geocom satellite aboard an expendable Falcon 9.
 Hotbird 13G?  Not Eutelsat 10B.

Intelsat made some FCC ground station filings to support LEOP of "Hotbird F1", which isn't actually a real name.  I'm guessing that should be Hotbird 13F.  The launch date given is October 17.  [Filing dated August 15.]

Wouldn't Hotbird 13G be more likely? The plan seems to be for it to launch before 13F (based on the table a few posts above).

Could be 13G

It may also be that Hotbird 13G gets the better orbit, i.e. an expendable Falcon 9.
With Hotbird 13G, Eutelsat wants to get the money for the EGNOS payload as soon as possible.
A total of 100 million euros in 15 years.
Hotbird 13F is not so urgent, but should also be launched this year.
<snip>

Edit: Might 10B launch on another Falcon 9?  If so, NLT early 2023?  Ovzon-3 is launching on Ariane 5.

Ovzon-3 news:

SN Maxar receives delayed Ovzon 3 satellite parts, August 18

TAMPA, Fla. — Ovzon’s first satellite is set to launch between December and February following the delivery of parts caught up in supply chain delays, the Swedish broadband service provider said Aug. 18.
<snip>
<snip> Ovzon CEO Per Noré said Ovzon 3’s size makes it easier for Arianespace to work the spacecraft into an existing launch manifest [Ariane 5].

[zubenelgenubi]

Hotbird 13F?

Now there's a filing for LEOP ground station support of the other Hotbird sat [Hotbird F2], NET November 7.  Again no launch details given.  [Aug 30]

[zubenelgenubi]

Belated cross-posts

PRESS RELEASE - 29 OCTOBER 2019 08:34

Eutelsat orders EUTELSAT 10B satellite for inflight and maritime connectivity services

Incremental HTS Ku-band capacity addressing demand in mobile connectivity
Substantial firm commitments from leading in-flight connectivity service providers
Ensuring service continuity for customers on EUTELSAT 10A
Paris, 29 October 2019 - Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has signed a letter of agreement with Thales Alenia Space for the procurement of EUTELSAT 10B, a new all-electric satellite built on the Spacebus NEO platform. Scheduled to be launched in 2022, the satellite will be located at 10° East, an orbital position that offers a unique visibility spanning from the Americas to Asia. It will ensure service continuity for existing customers on EUTELSAT 10A, while supporting the development of the Group’s activities in mobile connectivity thanks to two new incremental HTS payloads.

Two powerful and innovative payloads to provide inflight and maritime connectivity

Responding to strong growth in demand for mobile connectivity, EUTELSAT 10B will carry two multi-beam HTS Ku-band payloads: a high-capacity payload, covering the North Atlantic corridor, Europe, the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East, offering significant throughput in the busiest air and sea traffic zones, and a second payload to extend coverage across the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean. The satellite’s HTS payloads will be able to process more than 50 GHz of bandwidth, offering a throughput of approximately 35 Gbps.The entire satellite payload will be digitally processed, offering capacity allocation flexibility thanks to a digital transparent processor.

Firm capacity commitments

Firm multi-year capacity commitments have already been secured with several leading in-flight connectivity service providers, representing more than one third of the incremental HTS capacity. These partners will rely on EUTELSAT 10B to provide airlines with in-flight connectivity services.

Service continuity at a key orbital location
The 10° East location that EUTELSAT 10B will occupy has been operated by Eutelsat since 1987 and provides unrivalled coverage in the heart of the European, Middle Eastern and African zones. EUTELSAT 10B satellite will carry two widebeam C- and Ku-band payloads, totalling 32 [1] to ensure continuity of the missions of the EUTELSAT 10A satellite, whose operational life is scheduled to end in 2023.

The capital expenditure represented by EUTELSAT 10B does not alter Eutelsat’s existing envelope of 400 million euros per annum on average for the period from July 2019 to June 2022.

Rodolphe Belmer, CEO of Eutelsat, said: "The procurement of EUTELSAT 10B underpins our strategy of focusing our development in the field of connectivity. The selection of its Ku-band payload, in complement to the future KONNECT VHTS operating in Ka-band, reflects our ability to serve our customers in both Ka- and Ku-band with best-in-class space assets. Firm capacity commitments secured with major partners testify to both the quality of coverage at our 10° East location as well as the robustness of demand in the mobile connectivity segment.”

[1]12 transponders equivalent to 36 MHz in Ku-band and 20 transponders equivalent to 36 MHz in C-band

https://www.eutelsat.com/en/news/press.html#/pressreleases/eutelsat-orders-eutelsat-10b-satellite-for-inflight-and-maritime-connectivity-services-2936959

Eutelsat entrusts Arianespace with the launch of its next-generation EUTELSAT 10B satellite

December 15, 2020

Arianespace and Eutelsat have confirmed that EUTELSAT 10B, Eutelsat’s next generation high-throughput telecommunications satellite, will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket.

EUTELSAT 10B is scheduled for launch in 2022 on one of eight Ariane 5 missions remaining to be performed with the heavy-lift launcher.

Arianespace, the European launch services provider, has confirmed that it will launch a new satellite – EUTELSAT 10B – for Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators.

The launch is scheduled from the Guiana Space Centre on an Ariane 5 in 2022.

EUTELSAT 10B is a telecommunications satellite to be positioned at the 10° East orbital position, offering unique visibility spanning from the Americas to Asia. Built by Thales Alenia Space and based on its Spacebus NEO all-electric platform, it will embark Ku- and C-band payloads to ensure service continuity for existing customers on EUTELSAT 10A, while supporting the development of the Eutelsat Group’s activities in mobile connectivity thanks to two incremental multi-beam HTS Ku-band payloads.

Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat’s Chief Technical Officer, said: “We are pleased to entrust the launch of EUTELSAT 10B to our long-standing partner, Arianespace, further cementing the relationship between our two companies and reflecting our confidence in Ariane 5 providing us with access to space.”

“We are honored by Eutelsat’s renewed trust in Arianespace’s launch services solutions,” said Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace. “Not only does this contract illustrate the long-lasting partnership between our two companies and the robustness of our relationship, it also demonstrates the competitiveness of Ariane 5 within the demanding market of geostationary telecommunications satellites. With this latest announcement, Ariane 5 has secured almost all its final series of launches, in advance of the handover to Ariane 6 with the same success.”

https://www.arianespace.com/press-release/eutelsat-entrusts-arianespace-with-the-launch-of-its-next-generation-eutelsat-10b-satellite/

Arianespace sustained its launch operations in 2020 and gears up for an even faster pace in 2021
<snip>
Arianespace consolidated the order backlog for its family of launchers (Ariane 5, Ariane 6, Soyuz, Vega, Vega C), by signing contracts with the following customers:
<snip>
Eutelsat, with the launch of its new-generation EUTELSAT-10B satellite on Ariane 5, and confirmation of three options on Ariane 6 defined within the framework of a contract signed in 2018;
<snip>
https://www.arianespace.com/press-release/arianespace-sustained-its-launch-operations-in-2020-and-gears-up-for-an-even-faster-pace-in-2021/
[January 7, 2021]

Launch TBD 2022 > H2 2022:

Eutelsat: Delayed satellite launches.

First Half 2020-21 Results Presentation
https://www.eutelsat.com/files/PDF/investors/2020-21/H1_2020-21_Presentation.pdf
[Attachment 1]

A beginning to us sorting out the 2022 Ariane 5 manifest:

Now that we know the passengers of VA257, and that we know that JUICE will be the last flight of Ariane 5, it thus remains 3 flights with "unknown" satellites.

https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/1479071607956119556

Stéphane Israël (@arianespaceceo) notes up to 17 @Arianespace launches in 2022, with:
- 4 of the 5 Ariane 5s (only JUICE will remain)
- 9 Soyuz launches (4 from Guiana + 5 from Baikonur)
- 1 Ariane 6 flights (1st NET 2nd half 2022)
- 3 Vega-C missions (1st NET April 2022)

[GWR64]

some FCC filings for ground station support, the launch site is not specified

Intelsat License LLC (“Intelsat”) herein requests 180 days of Special Temporary Authority (“STA”), commencing November 11, 2022, to use its Hagerstown, Maryland Ku-band earth station, Call Sign KA258, to provide launch and early orbit phase (“LEOP”) services to the Eutelsat-E10B satellite. Eutelsat-E10B is expected to launch on November 11, 2022. Intelsat expects the LEOP to last approximately six months.

SES-STA-20220830-00930
SES-STA-20220830-00931

[zubenelgenubi]

Not launching on Ariane 5 VA259:

According to Stéphane Israël on the VA258 launch webcast:

- Next Vega(-C) launch (VV22) on November 21st with Pleiades Neo 5 and 6 on 2nd Vega-C
- Next Ariane 5 launch (VA259) in December with satellites from EUMETSAT (MTG-I1) & Intelsat (Galaxy 35 & 36)

Falcon 9?

[Galactic Penguin SST]

SFN confirms this is also switching to a Falcon 9 launch from SLC-40 at the Cape, NET November 2022.

Also "The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will either be expended or land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean." - probable last usage of B1049?

[DanClemmensen]

SFN confirms this is also switching to a Falcon 9 launch from SLC-40 at the Cape, NET November 2022.

Also "The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will either be expended or land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean." - probable last usage of B1049?

For quite a while, we have been told that 1049 was being reserved for the next mission with a deliberately-expended booster, and this is why it has not flown for a long time. It is the earliest of the active boosters and is reputed to lack some more recent design changes that simplify refurbishment. Has something changed?

[scr00chy]

The potentially expended booster might indicate this is the launch with HAKUTO-R Mission 1.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post; confirms that 1049.11 will be expended for this launch:

https://twitter.com/alexphysics13/status/1579444259337666560

For the first time in over 3 years SpaceX will expend a Falcon booster on purpose. But it's not just one, it'll be three boosters. If schedules hold, the order will be B1066, then B1051-14, and finally B1049-11.
nextspaceflight.com/launches/agenc…

Here goes a 🧵

https://twitter.com/Alexphysics13/status/1579444268305100800

https://twitter.com/alexphysics13/status/1579444271123685376

B1049-11 is a Falcon 9 booster that will fly on the Eutelsat 10B mission. Among its flights, this booster supported the first launch of Starlink satellites in May 2019. Its last flight is part of a previously unannounced three-mission deal with Eutelsat.

It'll be sad to see these three boosters go and it's been a long time since SpaceX intentionally expended one but at least they'll go out doing just what Falcon does best... which is putting stuff into orbit.

[GWR64]

The MN Colibri left Fos sur Mer today. Destination is Cape Canaveral on October 25th.
Could there be Eutelsat 10B on board? If not what else?

[FLHerne]

Seems a bit tight for an early November launch. Could be Hotbird 13G, NET late November?

[Chinakpradhan]

The MN Colibri left Fos sur Mer today. Destination is Cape Canaveral on October 25th.
Could there be Eutelsat 10B on board? If not what else?

only 10B 13G is coming via air

[zubenelgenubi]

Seems a bit tight for an early November launch. Could be Hotbird 13G, NET late November?

Or, the 10B launch is delayed.

[Josh_from_Canada]

Likely using this licence

So this is what an expendable F9 FCC permit looks like now (it's been so long).  One of several expendable launches coming up.

1708-EX-ST-2022   

SpaceX Mission 1802 from LC-40 at CCAFS or LC-39A at KSC, and the experimental recovery operation following the Falcon 9 launch...
The first stage booster is expendable...
North  27  54  50   West  71  48  9 Boat

NET mid-November

[Rondaz]

Arianespace's MN Colibri has reached the open Atlantic Ocean and is on her way to deliver "space cargo" (probably Eutelsat-10B) to Cape Canaveral.

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1581765678666723328