Arabsat 5th generation fleet will consist of three satellites with a total of 130 transponders in Ku-, C-and Ka-bands, to be positioned at Arabsat three orbital positions, including the new 20° East. A firm contract for manufacturing and delivering in orbit the two first satellites, Arabsat-5A and Badr-5, was signed in June 2007. Astrium will supply the Eurostar E3000 platforms and integrate the satellites. Thales Alenia Space will supply the communications payloads.
Arabsat-5A, a multi-mission satellite, will take over from Arabsat-2B and provide additional capacity at 30.5º East for a large range of satellite communications services such as television backhauling and broadcasting, telephony, business communications, Internet trunking and the provision of VSAT and other interactive services, over sub-Saharan Africa, the North-Africa and Middle East (MENA) region, and beyond. A Eurostar E3000 model, equipped with a payload featuring 16 active transponders in C-band and 24 in Ku-band, Arabsat-5A will have a launch mass of 4,800kg and a spacecraft power of 11kW at the end of its 15-year designed lifetime.
Badr-5 (technically Arabsat-5B), will be co-located with the rest of Arabsat's Badr constellation of Direct-To-Home satellites at its 26° East video 'hot-spot', primarily providing full in-orbit back-up capacity both for Badr-4 and Badr-6 television services, covering a stretched zone encompassing the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and beyond. Complementary missions will include supporting the expected boom of HD-TV and, thanks to its Ka-band capacity, the development of new sophisticated interactive television services from broadcasters. A Eurostar E3000 model, equipped with a payload featuring 56 active transponders in Ku-band and Ka-band, Badr-5 will have a launch mass of 5,400 kg and a spacecraft power of 14 kW at the end of its 15-year service lifetime.
