Hot Bird
Encyclopedia
Hot Bird is the name of a popular family of satellite
s operated by Eutelsat
, located at 13°E
over the Equator
(orbital
position) and with a transmitting footprint
over Europe
, North Africa
and the Middle East
.
Only digital
radio
and television
channels are transmitted by the Hot Bird constellation
, both free-to-air
and encrypted. In addition there are a few interactive and IP
services. The satellites currently operate at 13° East and are numbered 6, 8 and 9.
in 28 March 1995. The 13° East slot predates the launch, with Eutelsat 1F1 having been located there as early as 1983, and Eutelsat 2F1 having also served time at the location. It has reached end-of-life.
in 02 sep 1997 and intended to be moved to 10°E to become Eurobird 10. During the drift from 13°E to 10°E, the satellite suffered loss of power from one solar array. It was nevertheless successfully moved to 10°E, but could only operate at a reduced capacity. Since then, it is operating at 4°E under the name Eurobird 4. At last it moved to 75°E and its and renamed to ABS_1B. It has reached end-of-life.
in 27 Feb 1998 and redeployed to 7°W in July 2006, becoming Atlantic Bird
4 / Nilesat 103
in 09 Oct 1998 and re-located to 25.5°E and renamed Eurobird 2. Six transponders are leased to Arabsat under the name Badr 2, after having been called Arabsat 2D.
in 21 July 2002. Starting on 12 June 2009, the day of Iranian elections
, deliberate interference affecting this satellite was traced to Iran
. Hot Bird 6 is the primary carrier for BBC Persian Television
.
launch. Its replacement, Hot Bird 7A (a Spacebus
3000B3) was successfully launched on 11 March 2006.
.
in December 2008. Its entry into service enabled the Hot Bird 7A satellite to be redeployed to 9° East and rebranded Eurobird 9A, increasing capacity to 38 transponders at this orbital position.
in February 2009 with NSS-9
, Spirale
A and Spirale B. It will support Eutelsat's expansion at 7° West, a key video neighbourhood for the Middle East. The EUTELSAT 3C (new name) satellite, having completed its mission at 7 degrees West as ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A, has now been redeployed to 3 degrees East. Here, it will address data and telecoms markets in Europe and South-West Asia with high-power Ku-band coverage. It is colocated at 3 degrees East with EUTELSAT 3A. Eutelsat has expanded its commercial response to high-growth video, data, telecom and broadband markets with the opening of business at the 3° East orbital position.
Channel lists
Footprints
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s operated by Eutelsat
Eutelsat
Eutelsat S.A. is a French-based satellite provider. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, it is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues.Eutelsat’s satellites...
, located at 13°E
Celestial coordinate system
In astronomy, a celestial coordinate system is a coordinate system for mapping positions on the celestial sphere.There are different celestial coordinate systems each using a system of spherical coordinates projected on the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on...
over the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
(orbital
Orbital spaceflight
An orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altitude at perigee above...
position) and with a transmitting footprint
Footprint (satellite)
The footprint of a communications satellite is the ground area that its transponders offer coverage, and determines the satellite dish diameter required to receive each transponder's signal...
over Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Only digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channels are transmitted by the Hot Bird constellation
Satellite constellation
A group of artificial satellites working in concert is known as a satellite constellation. Such a constellation can be considered to be a number of satellites with coordinated ground coverage, operating together under shared control, synchronised so that they overlap well in coverage and...
, both free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
and encrypted. In addition there are a few interactive and IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
services. The satellites currently operate at 13° East and are numbered 6, 8 and 9.
List of satellites
| Name | Launch Location | Current Location | Launch date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Bird 1 | Kourou | Junk orbit | 28 March 1995 | |
| Hot Bird 2 (Eurobird 9) | Cape Canaveral | 48°E | 21 November 1996 | |
| Hot Bird 3 (Eurobird 4) | Kourou | Junk orbit | 2 September 1997 | |
| Hot Bird 4 (Atlantic Bird 4) | Kourou | 16°E | 27 February 1998 | |
| Hot Bird 5 (Eurobird 2) | Cape Canaveral | 25.5°E | 9 October 1998 | |
| Hot Bird 6 | Cape Canaveral | 13°E | 21 August 2002 | |
| Hot Bird 7 | Kourou | n/a - aborted launch | 11 November 2002 | |
| Hot Bird 7A (Eurobird 9A) | Kourou | 9°E | 12 March 2006 | |
| Hot Bird 8 | Baikonur | 13°E | 4 August 2006 | |
| Hot Bird 9 | Kourou | 13°E | 20 December 2008 | |
| Hot Bird 10 (EUTELSAT 3C) | Kourou | 3°E | February 2009 | |
Hot Bird 1
Hot Bird 1 was launched by Ariane 44LPAriane 4
Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 4 was justly known as the ‘workhorse’ of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the last, on 15 February 2003, it...
in 28 March 1995. The 13° East slot predates the launch, with Eutelsat 1F1 having been located there as early as 1983, and Eutelsat 2F1 having also served time at the location. It has reached end-of-life.
Hot Bird 3
Hot Bird 3 was launched by Ariane 44LPAriane 4
Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 4 was justly known as the ‘workhorse’ of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the last, on 15 February 2003, it...
in 02 sep 1997 and intended to be moved to 10°E to become Eurobird 10. During the drift from 13°E to 10°E, the satellite suffered loss of power from one solar array. It was nevertheless successfully moved to 10°E, but could only operate at a reduced capacity. Since then, it is operating at 4°E under the name Eurobird 4. At last it moved to 75°E and its and renamed to ABS_1B. It has reached end-of-life.
Hot Bird 4
Hot Bird 4 was launched by Ariane 42PAriane 4
Ariane 4 was an expendable launch system, designed by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and manufactured and marketed by its subsidiary Arianespace. Ariane 4 was justly known as the ‘workhorse’ of the Ariane family. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the last, on 15 February 2003, it...
in 27 Feb 1998 and redeployed to 7°W in July 2006, becoming Atlantic Bird
Atlantic Bird
Atlantic Bird is the name for a set of satellites operated by Eutelsat operating over the Atlantic Ocean.Two of the original three satellites replaced the France Telecom Telecom 2 series satellites which Eutelsat had acquired in 1999....
4 / Nilesat 103
Nilesat 103
Nilesat 103 Satellite, also known as Atlantic Bird 4, is an Egyptian owned communications satellite.Nilesat and Eutelsat has agreed in September 2005 to lease capacity on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 4 satellite after relocating it to 7° West and renaming it Nilesat 103...
Hot Bird 5
Hot Bird 5 was launched by Atlas-2AAtlas II
Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. Atlas II was the last Atlas to use a three engine, "stage-and-a-half" design: two of its three engines were jettisoned during ascent, but its fuel tanks and other...
in 09 Oct 1998 and re-located to 25.5°E and renamed Eurobird 2. Six transponders are leased to Arabsat under the name Badr 2, after having been called Arabsat 2D.
Hot Bird 6
Hot Bird 6 was launched by Atlas V 401Atlas V
Atlas V is an active expendable launch system in the Atlas rocket family. Atlas V was formerly operated by Lockheed Martin, and is now operated by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance...
in 21 July 2002. Starting on 12 June 2009, the day of Iranian elections
2009 Iranian election protests
Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
, deliberate interference affecting this satellite was traced to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Hot Bird 6 is the primary carrier for BBC Persian Television
BBC Persian Television
BBC Persian Television is the BBC's Persian language news channel that was launched on 14 January 2009. The service can be accessed through satellite television, and is aimed at the 100 million Persian speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan....
.
Hot Bird 7/7A
Hot Bird 7 was lost in December 2002 during the Ariane 5 ECAAriane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
launch. Its replacement, Hot Bird 7A (a Spacebus
Spacebus
Spacebus is a satellite bus produced at the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center in France by Thales Alenia Space. Spacebuses are typically used for geostationary communications satellites, and fifty-two have been launched since development started in the 1980s. Spacebus was originally produced by...
3000B3) was successfully launched on 11 March 2006.
Hot Bird 8
Hot Bird 8 was launched by Proton (rocket) in 5 August 2006. With a launch mass of 4.9 tonnes, Hot Bird 8 is the largest and the most powerful broadcast satellite serving EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Hot Bird 9
Hot Bird 9 was launched by Ariane 5 ECAAriane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
in December 2008. Its entry into service enabled the Hot Bird 7A satellite to be redeployed to 9° East and rebranded Eurobird 9A, increasing capacity to 38 transponders at this orbital position.
Hot Bird 10
Hot Bird 10 was launched by Ariane 5 ECAAriane 5
Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
in February 2009 with NSS-9
NSS-9
NSS-9 is a is communications satellite owned by SES WORLD SKIES. It is an all C-band satellite intended a replacement for NSS-5, and has three beams with 44 active C-band transponders....
, Spirale
Spirale
Spirale is a French government programme to develop an early warning system which will use infrared satellite imagery to detect the flights of ballistic missiles during their boost phase, just after launch...
A and Spirale B. It will support Eutelsat's expansion at 7° West, a key video neighbourhood for the Middle East. The EUTELSAT 3C (new name) satellite, having completed its mission at 7 degrees West as ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A, has now been redeployed to 3 degrees East. Here, it will address data and telecoms markets in Europe and South-West Asia with high-power Ku-band coverage. It is colocated at 3 degrees East with EUTELSAT 3A. Eutelsat has expanded its commercial response to high-growth video, data, telecom and broadband markets with the opening of business at the 3° East orbital position.
Packages broadcast on Hot Bird
- American Forces NetworkAmerican Forces NetworkThe American Forces Network is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces American Forces Radio and Television Service for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide...
- Bis TV
- ViacomViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
- Globecast
- Telecom Serbia
- EurosportEurosportEurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
- Cyfra+Cyfra+Cyfra+ is a Polish digital satellite platform, owned and operated by French media company Canal+ . It offers 95 channels. By 2010, Cyfra+ had 1,6 million subscribers.-Setbacks:...
- NN (Poland)n is a Polish DTH platform. It was launched on October 12, 2006 and is owned by ITI Neovision. On June 30, 2011 the company had reached 826,000 subscribers.- Channels :There are currently:* 94 encrypted channels...
- Sky ItaliaSky ItaliaSky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together...
- NOVA GreeceNOVA GreeceNOVA Greece is a Greek digital satellite pay TV platform owned by Multichoice Hellas. It was launched in December 1999.NOVA offers Greek subscribers an array of international and domestic programmes plus the majority of popular Greek terrestrial TV channels along with a number of Greek...
- NOVA CyprusNOVA CyprusNOVA Cyprus is a Cypriot digital satellite pay television service owned by Multichoice Cyprus. NOVA launched in July 2004 and was the first DTH satellite provider to launch in Cyprus...
- Cyfrowy PolsatPolsatPolsat is Poland's second biggest television channel, founded on December 5, 1992 and owned by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak.Polsat belongs to the Polsat Group , which also owns other channels:*Polsat HD*Polsat 2 International*Polsat News*TV Biznes...
- Tivù SatTivù SatTivù sat is a free-to-air digital satellite television platform, launched by the joint venture between RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media, and serving Italy, Vatican City and the Republic of San Marino....
List of providers
| Name | Location | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Eutelsat | France | www.eutelsat.com |
| GLOBCOS NetWorks GmbH | Switzerland | www.globcos.com |
| Globecast | France | www.globecast.com |
| Wide Network Solutions | United Kingdom | www.widenetworks.net |
| SKY Italia | Italy | www.sky.it |
| Arqiva | United Kingdom | www.arqiva.com |
| RRSat | Israel | www.rrsat.com |
| SatLink | Israel | www.satlink.tv |
External links
OfficialChannel lists
- Channel listings on Lyngsat
- Daily updated channel listings with channel's video resolution and CAIDs
- Channel listings on Flysat
- Daily updated channel listings
- Channel listings on Sathint
Footprints