Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 10 has begun its checkout for launch at the Spaceport in French Guiana, where this spacecraft has now been removed from its protective shipping container. HOT BIRD™ 10 will be part of a multi-passenger payload for the heavy-lift Ariane 5’s initial flight of 2009 – joining SES NEWSKIES’ NSS-9 telecommunications satellite and two Spirale auxiliary passengers.