Nilesat 101, 102

Nilesat 101 [Astrium]

With the launch of Nilesat 101 on 28 April 1998, delivering more than 100 digital TV channels as well as radio and multimedia services to more than five million homes over the whole of North Africa from Morocco to the Persian Gulf, Egypt became the first African country to have its own direct TV broadcast satellite. A second satellite, Nilesat 102, was launched in 2000, and the Nilesat system now broadcasts more than 150 digital TV channels and provides additional services such as data transmission, turbo internet and multicasting applications.

Under the in-obit delivery contract to the Egyptian radio and TV union Nilesat, Astrium supplied the two direct-broadcast satellites (based on the Eurostar-2000 version of the company's Eurostar series) and the two control centres (in Cairo and Alexandria), together with comprehensive operator training for the Egyptian engineers for control of the satellite once in orbit.

NileSat 102 was retired in June 2018 and moved to a graveyard orbit.