Over 200 years' of successful operation for EADS Astrium's Eurostar satellites

Over 200 years' of successful operation for EADS Astrium's Eurostar
satellites

March 24th, 2005


EADS Astrium's Eurostar telecommunications satellites have notched up more
than 200 years' of successful combined operation in orbit since their
introduction in 1990.

The Eurostar geostationary communications satellites, designed, developed
and manufactured by EADS Astrium, have achieved a remarkable record of
reliability in service with the world's most prestigious operators.

A total of 26 Eurostar satellites have been successfully deployed in orbit,
of which 24 are currently in commercial service. Two have been retired after
having surpassed their mission lifetime. Seven of the satellites are beyond
their design lifetime and still operating successfully.

The latest and most capable version, Eurostar E3000, made its successful
debut in orbit in March 2004. To date, 11 E3000 spacecraft have been ordered
and four are already in orbit - including the giant Inmarsat 4 F1 satellite
launched from Cape Canaveral on 11 March 2005.

All Eurostar satellites are based on the same fundamental and proven
architecture. EADS Astrium was the first satellite manufacturer to introduce
fully digital electronics on commercial satellites with the initial
Eurostar - launched in October 1990. Proven design features and equipments
have been utilised on successive versions of Eurostar - offering assured
reliability from 200 years of successful operation.

On the latest E3000 model, which retains key architecture of previous
Eurostars, the structure and fuel tanks have been scaled up along with other
equipment to extend capacity. Flexibility of design enables the
communications module, built around the compact, four-tank service module,
to be tailored to individual requirements and the electrical power capacity
to be scalable for different mission ranges. Proven, standardized equipment
and options add further flexibility to ensure a perfect match with
individual customer requirements.

Antoine Bouvier, CEO of EADS Astrium, said: "200 years of successful
operation is a fantastic achievement for the Eurostar series and a testimony
to the skill and expertise of EADS Astrium's staff, the soundness of our
design solutions and the quality of our production process. I would like to
thank all our customers for the confidence they have placed in Eurostar to
provide satellite communications services throughout the world."


EADS ASTRIUM

EADS Astrium is Europe's leading satellite system specialist. Its activities
cover complete civil and military telecommunications and Earth observation
systems, science and navigation programmes, and all spacecraft avionics and
equipment.
EADS Astrium is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS SPACE, which is dedicated
to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2004 EADS SPACE had a
turnover of ?2.6 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United
Kingdom and Spain.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services.
In 2004, EADS generated revenues of ?31.8 billion and employed a workforce
of more than 110,000.


Contacts for the media:

Remi Roland EADS SPACE (FR) +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34
Alistair Scott EADS SPACE (UK) +44 (0) 1438 77 36 98
Jeremy Close EADS SPACE (UK) +44 (0) 1438 77 38 72
Mathias Pikelj EADS SPACE (GER) +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

Spacecraft nameEurostar version Customer Launch mass
(tons) Launch date Spacecraft status (as of March 2005)
Inmarsat-2 F1 E1000 Inmarsat 1.3 Oct. 1990 Operational (*)
Inmarsat-2 F2 E1000 Inmarsat 1.3 March 1991 Operational (*)
Inmarsat-2 F3 E1000 Inmarsat 1.3 Dec. 1991 Operational (*)
Telecom-2A E2000 CNES/France Telecom 2.3 Dec. 1991 Operational (*)
Inmarsat-2 F4 E1000 Inmarsat 1.3 April 1992 Operational (*)
Telecom-2B E2000 CNES/France Telecom 2.3 April 1992 Retired (*)
Hispasat-1A E2000 Hispasat 2.2 Sept. 1992 Retired (*)
Hispasat-1B E2000 Hispasat 2.2 July 1993 Operational (*)
Orion-1/Telstar 11 E2000 Orion/Loral Skynet 2.3 Nov. 1994 Operational (*)
Telecom-2C E2000 CNES/France Telecom 2.3 Dec. 1995 Operational
Telecom-2D E2000 CNES/France Telecom 2.3 Aug. 1996 Operational
Hot Bird 2 E2000+ Eutelsat 2.9 Nov. 1996 Operational
Hot Bird 3 E2000+ Eutelsat 2.9 Sept. 1997 Operational
Hot Bird 4 E2000+ Eutelsat 2.9 Feb. 1998 Operational
Nilesat 101 E2000 Nilesat 1.8 April 1998Operational
ST-1 E2000+ SingTel/CHT 3.3 Aug. 1998 Operational
EuroBird 2 E2000+ Eutelsat 3.0 Oct. 1998 Operational
AfriStar E2000+ WorldSpace 2.8 Oct. 1998 Operational
AsiaStar E2000+ WorldSpace 2.8 March 2000 Operational
Nilesat 102 E2000 Nilesat 1.8 Aug. 2000 Operational
Eutelsat W1 E2000+ Eutelsat 3.3 Sept. 2000 Operational
Astra 2B E2000+ SES Astra 3.3 Sept. 2000 Operational
Hot Bird 7 E2000+ Eutelsat 3.3 Dec. 2002 Lost at launch
Hellas-Sat E2000+ Hellas-Sat 3.3 May 2003 Operational
Eutelsat W3A E3000 Eutelsat 4.3 March 2004 Operational
Intelsat 10-02 E3000 Intelsat 5.6 June 2004 Operational
Amazonas E3000 Hispasat 4.5 Aug. 2004 Operational
Inmarsat 4 F1 E3000 Inmarsat 5.9 March 2005 In-orbit testing
Inmarsat 4 F2 E3000 Inmarsat 5.9 Under construction
Inmarsat 4 F3 E3000 Inmarsat 5.9 Under construction
WorldStar F3 E2000+ WorldSpace 2.8 Stored on ground
Anik-F1R E3000 Telesat 4.5 Under construction
Hot Bird 8 E3000 Eutelsat 5.0 Under construction
Arabsat 4A E2000+ Arabsat 3.3 Under construction
Arabsat 4B E2000+ Arabsat 3.3 Under construction
Skynet 5A E3000 Paradigm 4.7 Under construction
Anik-F3 E3000 Telesat 4.7 Under construction
Skynet 5B E3000 Paradigm 4.7 Under construction
(*) beyond design lifetime




Contacts:
Rémi ROLAND
EADS SPACE (FR)Tel: +33 (0) 1 42 24 27 34

Alistair Scott
EADS SPACE (UK)Tel: +44 (0) 1438 77 3698

Mathias PIKELJ
EADS SPACE (GER)Tel: +49 (0) 7545 8 91 23

Hendrik Thielemann
(GER)Tel: +49 (0) 89 607 2 72 44

Francisco LECHÓN
EADS SPACE (E)Tel: +34 (0) 91 586 37 41



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info