The XTAR-EUR is a communication satellite developed by Spain and the United States and in order to provide a secure channel over the Indian Ocean.

Its launch short after the Spainsat is part of an effort to strengthen Spain's communication ties with allied countries around the globe, particularly in maters of national security (defense, disaster relief...).

The sides of the box contain two retractable solar panels (providing up to 3.6 kW of power) while the lower base (facing anti-radial direction) holds the communication module.

This module operates on the X band (compatible with SATCOM systems employed by NATO)[4] and consists of 12 X-band transponders of 72 MHz broadband each (reserving 4 for usage by the Spanish Ministry of Defense while offering the other 8 for potential partners) and a 2.4 diameter antenna.

[6] The satellite was officially launched the 12th of February 2005 at 21:03 UT on board an Ariane-5 ECA rocket from the Guyana Space Center.