EUTELSAT QUANTUM

About This Satellite

Eutelsat Quantum launched on July 30, 2021 to demonstrate a more flexible commercial communications architecture. Its payload can be reconfigured from the ground, including coverage, power allocation, frequency, and signal routing. This allows the operator to adapt the communications mission after launch instead of relying entirely on a configuration fixed during construction.

Moving a beam is not moving the whole satellite

The key change is in the payload's communications configuration. Reshaping or redirecting coverage is different from sending the spacecraft to another orbital position. A map of the sub-satellite point therefore cannot tell a customer which beam covers a location or how much capacity has been allocated to it.

Software-defined does not mean physically unlimited

Reconfiguration concerns capabilities built into the spacecraft. It should not be understood as an ability to install arbitrary new antennas or convert the relay into an optical Earth-observation satellite. The useful question is which communications parameters can be changed within the design, not whether software can remove every hardware constraint.

Mission reference: ESA: Eutelsat Quantum software-defined payload. Editorial review: 2026-09-14.

Commercial use followed the launch demonstration

ESA reported commercial use on August 15, 2022, noting that six of eight beams had been sold at that time. This is a dated commercial milestone, not a current capacity listing. The same report describes reshaping and redirecting beams for mobile communications; serving changing demand depends on payload configuration and ground services, not just the orbit.

Reference: ESA: Eutelsat Quantum commercial-service milestone.

Interference awareness is not immunity from interference

The launch announcement describes the ability to detect and characterize unwanted emissions and respond dynamically to interference. That capability should not be read as a guarantee that a link can never be disrupted. Evaluating an actual service requires its frequency plan, ground terminal, coverage, and operating conditions; none of those can be inferred from a moving catalog marker alone.

Reference: ESA: configurable beams and interference response.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 35,778 km at perigee to 35,797 km at apogee, a difference of 19 km. The orbital period is about 1436.1 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00022 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.

Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.

Ground track is not sensor coverage

An inclination of 0.01 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 0.0 degrees north and south. This is a prograde orbit, moving in the same general direction as Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.

Is it fixed above one longitude?

The snapshot period is 1436.1 minutes. A sidereal day is about 1,436.07 minutes. Height alone does not establish a geostationary orbit: the period must match Earth rotation and the path must be circular and equatorial. This catalog uses a five-minute period tolerance for near-geosynchronous labels; near-geostationary additionally requires inclination at most 1 degree and eccentricity at most 0.01. These are browsing categories, not evidence of station-keeping or a fixed longitude.

Accuracy and missing information

The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.

Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 49056 · GCAT: S49056 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.

Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)

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