Hotbird 7A goes on March 9th

Launch of HOT BIRD™ 7A postponed to Thursday,
March 9, 2006

Following the postponement of the launch on Friday, February 24, 2006, Alcatel Alenia Space has performed a complete verification of the telemetry signal system of Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 7A satellite. As a result the satellite was confirmed to be in perfect health and ready for launch.

Furthermore, on Saturday, February 25, the disconnection of a cryogenic purging umbilical line between the launch table mast and the launch vehicle led Arianespace to roll back the launch vehicle to the Final Assembly Building for the change of the connector.

The launch is now scheduled during the night of Thursday, March 9, 2006, as soon as possible within the following launch window:

7:06 p.m. - 8:13 p.m., Kourou, French Guiana
5:06 p.m. - 6:13 p.m., Washington , D.C.
22:06 - 23:13 GMT
23:06 - 00:13, Paris and Madrid.