SES-6 Satellite Launch Campaign Kicked Off in Kazakhstan

SES S.A. announced that the SES-6 satellite has safely arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is now being processed for launch on board an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket scheduled to lift-off at 15:18 local time on June 3, 2013 (11:18 a.m. CET, 5:18 a.m. EDT).

SES-6 was built by EADS Astrium in Toulouse, France, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is equipped with 43 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent). It will enable the delivery of next generation broadcast services, including HD video distribution and mobile services, from its 40.5° West location in geostationary orbit, covering North America, Latin America, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean.

Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES, states: “SES-6 will replace the existing NSS-806 satellite at 40.5° West and provide significant capacity expansion at a strategic slot over the Americas. The satellite’s expanded Ku-band payload can support DTH platforms, VSAT services and government digital inclusion programs throughout Latin America. The C-band payload will add incremental capacity to support channel growth at a key cable neighborhood. We thank Astrium for the delivery of the spacecraft and look forward to a successful launch campaign with ILS Proton.”

SES-6 will have a launch mass of 6,100 kg, a wingspan of 40m once its solar arrays are deployed in orbit, and a spacecraft power of 13 kW at the end of its 15-year design lifetime.

SES-6 will be the sixth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet, following the successful launch of ASTRA 2F in September 2012. Three more Eurostar E3000s for SES are currently in final integration and tests in Astrium facilities.