Space Systems/Loral, the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, today announced that the SES-5 satellite, designed and built for SES, has arrived at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, where it will be launched aboard a Proton Breeze M vehicle provided by International Launch Services.
SES-5, which includes an L-band payload for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), is a complex, multi-mission satellite that helps demonstrate SS/L’s experience integrating governmental and institutional payloads on commercial spacecraft.
“This is the third satellite we have delivered to SES in the last nine months,” said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. “We would like to thank SES for giving us the opportunity to build this complex spacecraft that combines multiple frequency bands and coverage areas to help SES bring entertainment and vital communications services to improve the human experience in several important regions.”
SES-5 is designed to deliver high performance and extensive coverage for Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, broadband, maritime communications, GSM backhaul, and VSAT applications in Europe and Africa. The EGNOS navigation payload, which was built based on requirements from the European Commission (EC), will help to verify, improve, and report on the reliability and accuracy of GPS positioning signals in Europe.
“Space Systems/Loral has been an important contributor to our recent fleet expansion,” said Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES. “We are pleased that SES-5 has arrived at launch base safely and we look forward to another successful launch next month.”
When launched, SES-5 will be positioned at 5 degrees East longitude. It has 36 active Ku-band transponders and two Ku-band beams, one serving customers in the Nordic and Baltic countries and the other serving Sub-Saharan Africa. It also has two C-band beams, one with global coverage and one with hemispheric coverage, which can be operated with up to 24 active C-band transponders. The satellite also provides Ka-band uplink capability, allowing for flexible operations between Europe and Africa.
SES-5 is based on the highly reliable Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform, which is well-suited for multi-mission satellites because of its size and high power capability. The satellite is designed to deliver service for 15 years or more.
About SES
SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 50 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 (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: 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.
About Space Systems/Loral
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (LORL), has a long history of delivering reliable satellites and spacecraft systems for commercial and government customers around the world. As the world’s leading provider of commercial satellites, the company works closely with satellite operators to provide spacecraft for a broad range of services including television and radio distribution, digital audio radio, broadband Internet, and mobile communications. Billions of people around the world depend on SS/L satellites every day. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.
About Loral Space & Communications
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary, the company is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring, and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat, one of the world’s largest providers of satellite services. Telesat operates a fleet of telecommunications satellites used to broadcast video entertainment programming, distribute direct-to-home video and broadband data services, and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral’s Web site at www.loral.com.
