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Eutelsat 12 West B

Names	Atlantic Bird 2 (2001–2012) Eutelsat 8 West A (2012–2015)
Mission type	Communications
Operator	Eutelsat
COSPAR ID	2001-042A
SATCAT no.	26927
Website	www.eutelsat.com/en/home.html
Mission duration	12 years (planned) 19 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Atlantic Bird 2
Spacecraft type	Spacebus
Bus	Spacebus-3000B2
Manufacturer	Alcatel Space
Launch mass	3,150 kg (6,940 lb)
Dry mass	1,368 kg (3,016 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	21 September 2001, 23:21 UTC
Rocket	Ariane 44P H10-3 (V144)
Launch site	Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-2
Contractor	Arianespace
Entered service	November 2001
End of mission
Disposal	Graveyard orbit
Deactivated	October 2020
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Geostationary orbit
Longitude	8° West (2001–2015) 12.5° West (2015–2020)
Transponders
Band	26 Ku-band
Coverage area	Americas, Europe
Eutelsat constellation

Eutelsat 12 West B, known as Atlantic Bird 2 prior to 2012 and Eutelsat 8 West A from 2012 to 2015, was a geostationary communications satellite. Operated by Eutelsat, it provides direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services from geostationary orbit. The satellite is part of Eutelsat constellation at a longitude of 8° West, then 12.5° West. Eutelsat announced the order of a new Spacebus-3000B2 satellite bus from Alcatel Space in October 2012.

Satellite description

Atlantic Bird 2 was a 3,150 kg (6,940 lb) satellite with a design life of 12 years. It is equipped with an S400-12 apogee motor which was used for initial orbit-raising manoeuvres and an S10-18 engine for station keeping burns. The spacecraft has 26 Ku-band transponders.

Launch

Atlantic Bird 2 was launched on the Ariane 44P launch vehicles from Centre Spatial Guyanais at the Kourou in French Guiana. Liftoff occurred at 23:21 UTC on 21 September 2001, with the launch vehicle successfully injecting its payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The launch was conducted by Arianespace.

Mission

Following launch, the satellite Atlantic Bird 2 used its apogee motor to raise itself into geostationary orbit, positioning itself at a longitude of 8° West. In December 2011, Eutelsat announced, that their satellite assets will be renamed under a unified brand name effective from March 2012. This satellite became Eutelsat 8 West A at 8° West. In 2015, it was moved to 12.5° West and named Eutelsat 12 West B. It has been moved to a graveyard orbit in October 2020.

References

1. "Hot Bird 6 / 2002 – 038A". Spacecraft Propulsion Heritage. EADS Astrium. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
2. ^ Krebs, Gunter (22 October 2020). "Atlantic Bird 2 → Eutelsat 8 West A → Eutelsat 12 West B". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
3. McDowell, Jonathan (14 March 2021). "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

External links

• TrackSat
• Information about this satellite

• Spacecraft launched in 2001
• Ariane commercial payloads
• Satellites using the Spacebus bus
• Eutelsat satellites
• Derelict satellites orbiting Earth