SES ASTRA, an SES company (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG), has announced today that the launch of its new ASTRA 3B satellite has been postponed due to an anomaly that occurred in a launcher subsystem.
The launch service provider, Arianespace, has decided to execute the necessary technical replacements and to postpone the launch for several days. The launch vehicle and its payload, the ASTRA 3B and COMSATBw-2 satellite, have been placed in stand-by mode and maintained in fully safe conditions.
ASTRA 3B was scheduled for launch today onboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. The new ASTRA satellite was built by EADS Astrium in Toulouse, France, and is intended to be located at 23.5 degrees East.
About SES ASTRA www.ses-astra.com
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 15 satellites. The ASTRA satellite system delivers services to more than 125 million DTH and cable households and transmits more than 2,500 analogue and digital television and radio channels. SES ASTRA also provides satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to enterprises, governments and their agencies. With more than 100 High Definition (HD) channels on its main orbital positions, ASTRA represents the most important HDTV platform for Europe’s leading broadcasters. The prime orbital positions for ASTRA are 19.2* East, 28.2* East, 23.5* East, 5* East and 31.5* East.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG). SES wholly owns the market-leading satellite operators SES ASTRA and SES WORLD SKIES as well as participations in Ciel in Canada, QuetzSat in Mexico and satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a global fleet of 41 satellites in 26 orbital locations. For further information: www.ses.com
