Eutelsat 8 West B on track for mid-2015 launch

Eutelsat’s new satellite for Middle East and North Africa broadcast markets, Eutelsat 8 West B, is in “the final stretch of manufacturing” and is on track for launch in mid-2015.

Eutelsat said that the satellite has finished launch environment tests and is now going through a final round of payload performance checks at Thales Alenia Space’s factory in Cannes.

Eutelsat 8 West B will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket to the 7/8° West neighbourhood, where it will deliver increased Ku-band capacity for the MENA region and a pan-African payload in C-band.