Comparison of the Arabsat series 2 satellites

Arabsat 2A and 2B are C- and Ku-band craft.
Arabsat 2C is the former PAS 5, and currently used only in C-band.
Arabsat 2D has been leased from Eutelsat to replace 2A and the partially failed Arabsat 3A. Arabsat 2D was redesignated Eurobird 2 April 2005, but is left on this table for the sake completeness.

Satellite:	2A	2B	2C	2D
.	.	.	(ex PAS 5)	(ex Hotbird 5)
Launch	9 / 7 / 1996	13 / 11 / 1996	28 / 8 / 1997	9 / 10 / 1998
Launch Location	Kourou	Kourou	Baikonur	Cape Canaveral
Launch Mass (kg)	2600	2600	3600	2995
Expected Lifetime (years)	12	12	15	14
Power Consumption (watts)	5000	5000	9700	5500
Transponder Capacity at launch	Ku: 12 (+5 spare) C: 22 (+10 spare)	Ku: 12 (+5 spare) C: 22 (+10 spare)	Ku: 24 (+4 spare) C: 24 (+4 spare)	22
TWTA Output (watts)	Ku: 96W C: 14 @ 15W C: 8 @ 58W	Ku: 96W C: 14 @ 15W C: 8 @ 58W	Ku: 6 @ 60W Ku: 18 @ 110W C: 50W	135W
Transponder Bandwidth (MHz)	Ku: 4 @ 30 MHz Ku: 8 @ 36MHz C: 20 @ 30MHz C: 8 @ 36MHz	Ku: 4 @ 30 MHz Ku: 8 @ 36MHz C: 20 @ 30MHz C: 8 @ 36MHz	?	12 @ 33MHz. 8 @ 36MHz. 2 @ 72MHz.
Channels (MHz)	Ku:12500 - 12750 C: 3700 - 4200	Ku:12500 - 12750 C: 3700 - 4200	?	10950-11200 11550-11700 12500-12600
Current Location	junk orbit	29°E	26°E	25.5°E
Possible Decommission Date	6 / 2005	2008	2012	2012
Manufacturer / Spacecraft type	Aerospatiale Spacebus-3000	Aerospatiale Spacebus-3000	Hughes Space HS-601HP	Matra Marconi Space Eurostar-2000+
Stabilisation type	3-axis	3-axis	3-axis	3-axis

Arabsat 2A started running in inclined orbit August 2002. By July 2003, inclination was 1°, and all tv channels had been moved over to Arabsat 2D. Moved to 20°E Spring 2004. By April 2005, the inclination was 2.7 degrees, and the end must be near. Decommissioned June 2005, and sent to junk orbit.

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