Eutelsat Konnect successfully launched

The Eutelsat Konnect satellite was successfully launched into Geostationary Transfer Orbit by Arianespace using an Ariane 5 rocket that lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9.05 pm Universal Time (10.05 pm CET) on 16 January 2020. The separation of the all-electric satellite occurred after a 27-minute flight and the spacecraft systems checkout was successfully completed over a period of 3-hours.

Built by Thales Alenia Space, the Eutelsat Konnect communications satellite features all-electric propulsion and operates in Ka-band. It is reportedly the first satellite to use Thales Alenia Space's all-electric Spacebus NEO platform, developed under the Neosat Partnership Project conducted by the European and French space agencies (ESA and CNES).