Eutelsat's latest telecommunications satellite arrived Thursday at the site in Kazakhstan where it will be readied for launch early next month.
The Hot Bird 8 is the largest satellite ever put into orbit by Paris-based Eutelsat and will be carried into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrom on the night of Aug. 4-5.
Hot Bird 8 weighs in at nearly 5 tons and is equipped with 64 Ku-band transponders for television and radio broadcasts. It will be placed in orbit at 13 degrees east and provide coverage of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The spacecraft will replace Hot Bird 3, which is being redeployed to another coverage area.
Launch will take place aboard an International Launch Services Proton rocket.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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