Eutelsat Communications has selected in October 2016 Airbus Defence and Space and Orbital ATK, now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS), to build a new satellite for the key 5° West orbital position serving mainly video markets in Europe and North Africa.

Under the terms of the agreement, Airbus Defence and Space will build the satellite’s payload while the platform will be manufactured by Orbital ATK. To be launched in 2018, Eutelsat 5 West B will replace the Ku-band capacity of Eutelsat 5 West A (formerly Stellat 5) satellite, a key digital infrastructure addressing predominantly French, Italian, and Algerian broadcast markets. Eutelsat 5 West B will provide business continuity and improved quality for these services via a Ku-band payload.

The satellite is built on Orbital ATKs GEOStar-2e bus and carries 35 equivalent 36 MHz Ku-band transponders connected to three service areas. Switchable transponders will also increase commercial flexibility.

After launch, a failure of one of the solar arrays was reported. Due to this failure, the satellite has only 45% of its projected capacity. The satellite will still enter service in January 2020 and operate for its full lifetime.

The Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is a spacecraft concept proposed by ViviSat, a 50/50 joint venture of aerospace firms U.S. Space and Northrop Grumman, to operate as a small-scale in-space satellite-refueling spacecraft.