it is transported to Cannes-Mandelieu, where it is integrated onto the bus. The satellites are powered by rigid solar panels. Several configurations are used depending on the amount of power the satellite requires. Batteries to store this power are produced by the Belgian company ETCA. Early satellites used nickel-hydrogen batteries, while later spacecraft use lithium-ion batteries. Spacebus satellites use bipropellant, liquid-fuelled chemical engines to achieve orbit and subsequently perform station-keeping. Electric propulsion was used on the Stentor and Astra 1K satellites, both of which were subsequently involved in launch failures. Spacebus Neo will be an electric propulsion satellite. A three-axis stabilisation system is used for attitude control. Models Spacebus satellites are compatible with a large number of carrier rockets, particularly the Ariane family. As the Ariane's performance has increased, the satellites' capacities have increased accordingly. Spacebus 100 Three Spacebus 100 satellites were produced for Arabsat to serve the 22 members of the Arab League. One of the solar panels on the first satellite, Arabsat-1A, failed to deploy, resulting in reduced power. This, combined with gyroscope issues, caused it to spend most of its operational lifespan as a reserve satellite. Spacebus 300 Five direct-to-home television satellites were built using the Spacebus 300 bus, which provided of power. Spacebus 2000 The Spacebus 2000 series was developed to use additional capacity provided by the Ariane 4. Its solar panels generated . Spacebus 3000 The Spacebus 3000 was introduced around the time the Ariane 5 entered service. Spacebus 3000 satellites have masses from and produce between . Increasingly larger payload fairings allowed larger spacecraft to be produced. In 1991, Aérospatiale, Alenia and Space Systems/Loral joined to form the Satellite Alliance. The first version of the Spacebus 3000 was the Spacebus 3000A, originally developed for Arabsat. They were also ordered by Shin Satellite of Thailand and China's Sino Satellite Communications Company. Twelve 3000B2 satellites were ordered, five of them by Eutelsat for their W Series, one of which later became Eutelsat 28A. A sixth order from Eutelsat was for Eutelsat 8 West A. Nordic Satellite AB, a Scandinavian company that later became SES Sirius, ordered Sirius 2, a replacement for the Spacebus 300-based TeleX satellite. Spanish satellite operator Hispasat ordered two satellites, and Arabsat ordered one satellite, Arabsat-3A. The final two were ordered by the German Bundeswehr and were launched on 1 October 2009, and in May 2010, respectively. Nine B3 satellites were ordered, three