The Airbus-built Eutelsat 36D geostationary communications satellite touched down in Sanford, Florida, on March 11 ahead of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch scheduled for the end of the month from the nearby Kennedy Space Center. Eutelsat 36D took off on Saturday from France, where the satellite manufacturer is headquartered, with an Airbus BelugaST (Super Carrier) aircraft. This is the third time the manufacturer of the Ukrainian alternative to Antonov planes has transported a large satellite across the Atlantic since Airbus began offering services to transport large cargo two years ago.

The satellite weighing approximately 5,000 kilograms must be transported to the launch site by truck.

French fleet operator Eutelsat ordered the satellite in 2021 to replace Eutelsat 36B before it runs out of fuel at 36 degrees east in 2026. The satellite has been providing television broadcasting and government services in Africa, Russia and Europe for over 14 years. Eutelsat 36D is based on the Airbus Eurostar Neo platform with 70 Ku-band transponders and all-electric propulsion; This means it will take five to six months after launch to reach its orbital slot and enter service.

Transport competition

Airbus also built two other satellites that Beluga used to fly from France to Florida: Viasat’s Inmarsat-6 F2 in January 2023 and Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13G in October 2022. Hotbird 13G flew the first Beluga to visit the United States since the 2009 delivery of Europe’s Tranquility Module to launch the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station.

Airbus hopes to attract more customers willing to carry satellites built by other companies after being certified to provide private airline services in November. Customers could use boats to deliver spacecraft overseas, while planes could lose weeks of long-haul trips to give operators greater confidence in meeting launch windows.

Antonov aircraft remain a mainstay of the space industry, although their availability is in doubt following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. On the same day that Eutelsat 36D departed France for Beluga, Antonov 124 departed Germany for Vandenberg, California, carrying the European Space Agency’s EarthCARE climate monitoring spacecraft, or Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer. SpaceX is scheduled to launch this Airbus spacecraft with Falcon 9 in May.

According to Airbus spokesman Francisco Cadena, Beluga was not created to compete directly with Antonov, but to provide additional services. Belugas produce less pollution and are 10% larger, making them better suited to larger spacecraft, according to Cadena, but Antonovs are better suited for larger payloads over longer distances. Source