Ariane 44L

The W satellites are designed to provide telecommunications services primarily over Europe (Eutelsat W2, W3 and W5) and communication services over Russia and Africa (W4). W2, W3 and W5 are designed to offer 24 transponders at saturation and W4 is designed to provide 31 transponders at saturation. The W satellites have a minimum operational lifetime of 12 years. The spacecraft are based on the Spacebus-3000B2 platform. Sirius 3 provides direct-to-home television services to the Scandinavian region. Hughes upgraded NSAB's satellite control center at Esrange, Kiruna, and provided training to the satellite controllers. Sirius 3 was successfully launched on an Ariane-44L H10-3 on October 5, 1998. The satellite was built at the Integrated Satellite Factory of in El Segundo, Calif.