Trouble for newly launched Eutelsat satellite

Eutelsat says it's investigating an incident affecting its newly launched Eutelsat 5 West B satellite.

The satellite operator is reporting issues with one of the two solar arrays.

In a short statement issued following media reports about the matter, Eutelsat said it was "working to assess the potential impact on the performance of the satellite and will communicate on it as quickly as possible."

Eutelsat 5 West B was launched into space earlier this month and was due to replace the current Eutelsat 5 West A satellite - the home of direct to home platform Fransat as well as feeds for digital terrestrial television networks in France and Italy.