Arabsat-5B reaches targeted orbit

With the spacecraft having separated, control of the telecommunications satellite has been handed over to the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat).

The Arabsat-5B (Badr 5) satellite - with a flight mass of 5.4 tonnes - will provide satellite digital television broadcasting and telephone communication services to customers in the Middle East and North Africa for the next 15 years.

The Proton rocket lifted off from Baykanour at 4:00 am (local time), carrying a BADR-5 satellite that was built on EADS Astrium’s E3000 platform with a Thales Alenia Space communications payload.

Arabsat owns and operates five satellites platforms at orbital positions 26 degrees and 30.5 degrees East. BADR-5 will be collocated with the BADR-4 and BADR-6 Direct-to-Home satellites at Arabsat 26 degrees East. BADR-5 will provide the highest level of service within the MENA region.

Khalid Balkheyour President & CEO of Arabsat said: “We are thankful for the successful launch of Badr – 5.”

“It will operate in the exclusive Hot Spot of Arabsat 26° degrees east, providing capacity for more than 700 TV channels, HDTV, 3D, Telecom services including broadband in addition to providing a full in orbit backup for the Arabsat fleet.”
 
Balkheyour added that on the 23rd of this month, Arabsat 5-A will be launched to its exclusive orbital position 30.5 degrees east, which covers the whole of Africa and large parts of Asia, as well as providing comprehensive coverage of the MENA region.

The Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) was established in 1976 by the member states of the Arab League and is a leading communications satellite operator in the region, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Above: Russian Proton-M rocket launches Arabsat-5B (Badr 5) satellite. Courtesy: Yuzhny Space Center PAO.

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is  responsible for the overall coordination of activities at the Baikonur space port.