The EUTELSAT 7B satellite of Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) is part of an exceptional infrastructure put in place by ESA to share the historic landing of the Philae lander on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 12 November.

ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft arrived at Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko on 6 August after a ten-year journey through the Solar System. The landing site, currently known as Site J and located on the smaller of the comet’s two ‘lobes’, was selected just six weeks after Rosetta arrived at the comet.

The mission’s lander, Philae, will separate from the Rosetta spacecraft on 12 November at 08:35 GMT/09:35 CET from a distance of 22.5 km from the centre of the comet. It will land about seven hours later, with confirmation expected to arrive at Earth at around 16:00 GMT/17:00 CET.

Three control centres are involved in the landing: the Rosetta Mission Operations Centre at ESA’s Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany; the Lander Control Centre at DLR in Cologne, Germany; and the Lander Science Operations and Navigation Centre at CNES in Toulouse, France. Activities at each control centre will be closely linked and will be featured in a combined English-language ESA TV programme broadcast from ESOC.

Viewers across Europe can watch the climax to the Rosetta mission via the EUTELSAT 7B satellite located at 7° East

Downlink frequency: 12676.83MHz
Polarisation: Y/vertical
Symbol rate: 7200 FEC: 5/6 Mod: DVBS2/8PSK
Signal: 1080i/50 MPEG4 4:2:0 H264 Audio 1: prog mono / Audio 2: ambience

Please see below the scheduled timelime for the landing operations and consult the dedicated ESA Rosetta website (http://rosetta.esa.int) or the ESA TV page (http://www.esa.int/esatv/Television) for more information and updates on this exceptional space mission.

Nov. 11
19:00 GMT / 20:00 CET Go-No Go #1

Nov. 12
06:00-07:00 GMT / 07:00-08:00 CET: Final preparation manoeuvre and Go/No-Go # 5 for lander
separation
08:30-09:15 GMT / 09:30-10:15 CET: Lander separation scheduled at 09:03 GMT/10:03 CET
11:00-12:15 GMT / 12:00-13:15 CET: Science update and first pictures expected around 12:00
GMT / 13:00 CET
14:00-15:30 GMT/ 15:00-16:30 CET: Rosetta science / Last preparations and then await landing
15:45-16:15 GMT /16:45-17:15 CET: Landing expected at 16:00 GMT / 17:00 CET (+/- 15 mn)
17:00 GMT /18:00 CET earliest: Presentation of first panoramic image from the comet

About Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 35 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 32 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com

Press
Vanessa O’Connor Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 voconnor@eutelsat.com
Frédérique Gautier Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 fgautier@eutelsat.com
Marie-Sophie Ecuer Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 mecuer@eutelsat.com

Investors and analysts
Joanna Darlington Tel: +33 1 53 98 35 30 jdarlington@eutelsat.com
Cédric Pugni Tel: +33 1 53 98 35 30 cpugni@eutelsat.com