Mission type Communications SATCAT no. 25237 Manufacturer Matra Marconi Operator Eutelsat | COSPAR ID 1998-013A Bus Eurostar-2000+ Launch date 27 February 1998 | |
Names Hot Bird 4 (1998-06)
Atlantic Bird 4 (2006-09)
Eurobird 16 (2009-2012)
Eutelsat 16B (2012—)
Leased capacity:
Nilesat 103 (2006-09) | ||
Eutelsat 16B, formerly known as Hot Bird 4, Atlantic Bird 4, Nilesat 103 and Eurobird 16, is a communications satellite owned and operated by Eutelsat. The satellite is currently operational at 16° East.
Contents
Launch
The satellite was launched in 1998 as Hot Bird 2, under Eutelsat's Hot Bird brand.
Orbit
The satellite was positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 13 degrees east, colocated with the rest of the Hot Bird constellation. Following the launches of Hot Bird 7A and Hot Bird 8 in 2006, the satellite was moved to 7 degrees west under the Atlantic Bird brand, and renamed Atlantic Bird 4. During this time, some of the satellite's capacity was leased to Egyptian operator Nilesat, who marketed the satellite as Nilesat 103.
Mission
Nilesat used the satellite, alongside Nilesat 101 and Nilesat 102 which were located in the same orbital slot, to provide direct-to-home digital TV channels, data transmission, turbo internet and multicasting applications to more than 15 million viewers in the North African and Middle East region.
In April 2009 the spacecraft was repositioned to 16° East and renamed Eurobird 16 as part of Eutelsat's Eurobird brand; it was replaced at 7 degrees west by Atlantic Bird 4A. In March 2012 the satellite was renamed Eutelsat 16B when the company unified its brand name.