ME NewsWire/ Business Wire
LUXEMBOURG - Friday, January 31st 2014
SES S.A. (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) announces that the ASTRA 2E satellite enters into commercial service in the orbital arc of 28.2/28.5 degrees East on February 1, 2014. The satellite was launched on board an ILS Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 30, 2013.
Extensive in-orbit tests have since then confirmed the satellite to be fully operational and performing to specifications.
ASTRA 2E has now been deployed at its final destination in the orbital arc of 28.2/28.5 degrees East, where it is co-positioned with ASTRA 2A, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 1N. Over the coming weeks, BSkyB, Channel4, ITV and BBC programming in this arc will be transitioned to the new satellite with its powerful footprint over the British Isles.
The satellite was built for SES by Astrium of France. Based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, the spacecraft carries 60 Ku-band transponders, including 12 incremental transponders for delivery of services outside Europe, as well as 4 Ka-band transponders. ASTRA 2E enables the delivery of next generation broadcast and broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ASTRA 2E, which had a launch mass of 6 tonnes, features a wingspan of 40m after its solar arrays have been deployed in orbit, and is designed to generate 13 kW of spacecraft power up to the end of its 15-year design lifetime.
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About SES
SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 55 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.
SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.
SES (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com.
Contacts
SES
Yves Feltes
Media Relations
Tel. +352 710 725 311
Yves.Feltes@ses.com
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