Monday, March 11, the Airbus-built Eutelsat 36D Geostationary Communications Satellite arrived in Sanford, Florida after flying from Toulouse, France aboard an Airbus BelugaST transport aircraft. The 5000 kg satellite was then driven by truck from Sanford (just north of Orlando) to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 by the end of the month.
Eutelsat 36D had set off Saturday on an Airbus BelugaST (Super Transporter) from France where the satellite maker is based. It is the third time the manufacturer’s alternative to Ukrainian Antonov aircraft has flown a large satellite across the Atlantic since Airbus started offering an outsized freight transportation service two years ago.
This is a routine replacement for a satellite currently in service called Eutelsat 36B, stationed at 36 degrees East longitude, where it has been providing TV broadcast and government services across Africa, Russia, and Europe for more than 14 years. It's expected to run out of repositioning fuel in 2026. Eutelsat ordered the replacement in 2021.
Eutelsat 36D has 70 Ku-band transponders and is based on the Airbus Eurostar Neo platform with all-electric propulsion, meaning it would take five to six months post-launch to reach its orbital slot and enter service.
While not specified in the source article, chances are the satellite is going to Airbus' recently purchased satellite construction facility on the Cape for checkout before being handed off to SpaceX.
SpaceNews simply captioned this as "A Beluga aircraft departures from Toulouse, France" without specifying if it was carrying this satellite. And, yes, leaving that "s" on departures. Image Credit: Airbus
Also not specified in the source article, but I'm pretty confident saying this, is that it's coming to Florida for a SpaceX ride due to the European Space Agency's Ariane 6 being several years late. The last date I saw was that it would fly this year, after being originally scheduled for 2020 and repeatedly delayed. I would assume they have a backlog but a mission like this one, replacement for a satellite running out of fuel, is not as flexible in schedule as the ESA might want.
Why Sanford? Couldn't they land at Melbourne International or even the Cape's runway? I mean, I understand not using Patrick SFB, but...
ReplyDeleteThe whole emphasis of the source was that it was that Airbus Beluga plane instead of the Ukrainian Antonov so no clues there. I figure it's probably something like Airbus already has some sort of arrangement with Sanford or a facility there - something minor like that. I'm sure the cost to ship an 11,000 pound "sensitive" load the 40 miles to the Cape isn't insignificant, either.
DeleteI flew out of there on one trip - '15 I think. Nice little airport. Little compared to Orlando International.
Have you driven between Sanford and Titusville? The roads are not exactly pristine!
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