OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2015. Arabsat 6B telecommunication satellite has been successfully launched by Arianespace form Kourou, in French Guyana, with an Ariane 5 rocket.

This new satellite Arabsat 6B, the first in Arabsat’s 6th generation of satellites, will be co-located with Arabsat satellites at the 26° East video hot spot known as BADR. It will extend in-orbit Arabsat’s capacity at this location for direct-to-home television broadcast and telecommunications services, and will provide broadband services in Ka-band with spot beam coverage.  This new multi-mission satellite will deliver broadcast, broadband and telecommunications services over MENA, Africa and Central Asia. Arabsat 6B will be renamed BADR-7 as soon as reaching its operational orbit.

Arabsat 6B was built by an industrial team of Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space, acting as co-prime contractors. Airbus Defence and Space, the leading partner, supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and integrated the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space has designed and built the communications payload.

Arabsat 6B is able to operate up to 24 transponders in Ku-band as well as a powerfull capacity in Ka FSS band including 24 Ka spot-beams as well as Ka transponders for additional services. Four deployable antennas and three fixed antennas will address service regions over a large coverage that includes the whole of MENA, South and North-West Africa and Central Asia.

Arabsat 6B weighed 5800 kg at launch and will have a spacecraft power of 11.5 kW at the end of its 15-year design life.

"When fully accepted in orbit, Arabsat 6B will be the twelfth Arabsat satellite provided by Thales Alenia Space or by the team formed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space", declared Jean Lo?c Galle, President and CEO of Thales Alenia Space. "This latest successful launch reflects the renewed confidence that Arabsat has in our long standing European partnership and our ability to deliver cutting edge solutions.”

About Thales Alenia Space

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), is a key European player in space telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, exploration and orbital infrastructures. Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio form the two parent companies' “Space Alliance”, which offers a complete range of services and solutions. Because of its unrivaled expertise in dual (civil/military) missions, constellations, flexible payloads, altimetry, meteorology and high-resolution optical and radar instruments, Thales Alenia Space is the natural partner to countries that want to expand their space program. The company posted consolidated revenues in excess of 2 billion euros in 2014, and has 7,500 employees in eight countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com