Eutelsat Konnect

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Eutelsat Konnect is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Eutelsat. It was built by Thales Alenia Space on the Spacebus NEO 100 platform and uses an all-electric bus. The satellite has a launch mass of about 3,619 kilograms and generates around 20 kilowatts of power.

Positioned at 2.7° East in geostationary orbit, Konnect provides high‑speed broadband and communications across Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. It carries a Ka‑band payload offering about 75 Gbps of capacity distributed over 65 spot beams.

The satellite was launched on 16 January 2020 aboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou (ELA-3), sharing the flight with India’s GSAT-30. About 28 minutes after liftoff, Konnect separated from the launcher and was placed into geostationary transfer orbit, then moved to its final geostationary orbit.

Eutelsat Konnect was originally ordered in October 2015 as the African Broadband Satellite to help expand Africa’s communications market. The mission is planned for about 15 years, delivering connectivity to Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.