Nilesat 201
NileSat
Geostationary Ku/Ka-band broadcast satellite operating at 7 degrees West, serving Egyptian and pan-Arab direct-to-home television since 2010.
Technical specifications
- Manufacturer
- Thales Alenia Space
- Platform
- Spacebus-4000B2
- Launch date
- 4 August 2010
- Launch vehicle
- Ariane 5ECA (V196)
- Mass
- 3,200 kg
- Orbital position
- 7° West (GEO)
- Design life
- 15 years
- Payload power
- 5,700 W
- Ku-band transponders
- 24 (linear polarization)
- Ka-band transponders
- 4 (circular polarization)
About
Nilesat 201 is a geostationary communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space on the Spacebus-4000B2 platform for Nilesat, Egypt’s national satellite operator. Launched on 4 August 2010 aboard an Ariane 5ECA rocket (flight V196) from Kourou, French Guiana, the satellite entered service at the 7 degrees West orbital slot, one of the most-watched satellite television neighborhoods in the Middle East and North Africa.
With a launch mass of approximately 3,200 kg and a design life of 15 years, Nilesat 201 carries 24 Ku-band (linear polarization) transponders and 4 Ka-band (circular polarization) transponders, generating around 5,700 watts of payload power. The satellite provides direct-to-home (DTH) television and radio broadcasting, digital data transmission, and telecommunications services across Egypt and the wider MENA region, distributing hundreds of free-to-air and encrypted channels to tens of millions of households.
Nilesat 201 has served as a core pillar of Nilesat’s broadcast fleet for over a decade, working alongside the earlier Nilesat 101/102 satellites and, since 2022, the newer Nilesat 301 spacecraft, which is progressively taking over capacity as Nilesat 201 approaches the end of its operational life.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
