Arabsat, Badr-4, Badr-5, Broadcastpro, Vijaya Cherian
Arabsat’s 5A and Badr-5 satellites, which were handed over recently by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space as part of an in-orbit delivery contract, have entered commercial service and will now provide communication services. Both satellites were deployed and tested in orbit in the same period owing to their close launch dates.
Badr-5 is co-located with the Badr-4 and Badr-6 Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellites at Arabsat’s hot spot. Badr-5 provides the highest level of service within the MENA region and new services over the Central Asia region.
Badr-5 provides capacity for more than 700 TV channels, HDTV, 3D, telecom services including broadband, in addition to providing full in-orbit backup for the Arabsat fleet. Badr-5 is a Eurostar E3000 satellite equipped with a payload that includes 56 transponders operating in different bands.
Arabsat-5A is a multi-mission satellite that provides additional transmission capacity at the Arabsat orbital position for a wide range of satellite communications services, covering the whole continent of Africa, Central Asia and Middle East regions. Arabsat-5A is a Eurostar E3000 satellite equipped with a payload that includes 50 active transponders operating in different bands. Astrium and Thales Alenia Space are co-prime contractors for the satellites’ construction and delivery into orbit. Astrium assembled and tested the spacecraft while Thales Alenia Space supplied the communications payloads.
