The HOT BIRD 2 payload

HOT BIRD 2 is the first of Eutelsat's new generation of high power television satellites. Each HOT BIRD payload will provide 20 channels towards the anticipated demand for direct broadcast channels from the 13 degrees East orbital slot. However, the payloads will also provide FSS capability to support the existing Eutelsat II constellation. The frequency plan for HOT BIRD 2 shows that up to 20 narrow band BSS channels fed from the 18 GHz uplink are available for a full broadcast configuration. For this first payload, up to 6 FSS channels can be selected from the 14 GHz uplink.