Upcoming launches

We plan to launch 13 new spacecraft from 2011 to 2014. Five of these were successfully launched in 2011; eight more will be brought into orbit from 2012 to 2014. The new satellites will provide replacement capacity for ageing satellites, and will also increase the available capacity by 23% over the baseline at year-end 2010. The majority of the incremental transponder capacity is dedicated to the emerging market regions.

Launch timeline

  • 2012

    • Q1

      • SES-4

    • Q2

      • SES-5

    • Q4

      • ASTRA 2F

  • 2013

    • Q1

      • SES-6
      • SES-8

    • Q2

      • ASTRA 2E
      • ASTRA 5B

  • 2014

    • Q1

      • ASTRA 2G

SES-4

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint

SES-5

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date Q2
    Orbital location 5°E
    Launch vehicle Proton Breeze M
    Bands Ka-band, C-band, Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer Space Systems Loral
  • SES’ high-powered Ku-band beams will bring incremental capacity over Africa, and the Nordic and Baltic countries to support DTH services. Its comprehensive C-band beams cover Africa, the Middle East and Europe to enable services such as GSM backhaul, VSAT applications, maritime communications and video distribution. SES-5 will also carry the first hosted L-band payload for the European Commission’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).

ASTRA 2F

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date 2012, Q4
    Orbital location 28.2°E
    Launch vehicle Proton Breeze M
    Bands Ka-band, Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer EADS Astrium
  • ASTRA 2F will enable the delivery of next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and will carry Ku- and Ka-band payloads at the prime orbital location of 28.2°East.

SES-6

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint

SES-8

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date 2013, Q1
    Orbital location 95°E
    Launch vehicle Falcon 9
    Bands Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation
  • SES-8 will be co-located with NSS-6 to provide growth capacity over Asia-Pacific. The high performance beams will support rapidly growing markets in South Asia and Indo-China, as well as provide expansion capacity for DTH, VSAT and government applications.

ASTRA 2E

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date 2013, Q2
    Orbital location 28.2°E
    Launch vehicle Ariane 5 ECA
    Bands Ka-band, Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer EADS Astrium
  • ASTRA 2E will enable the delivery of next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and will carry Ku- and Ka-band payloads at the prime orbital location of 28.2°East.

ASTRA 5B

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date 2013, Q2
    Orbital location 31.5°E
    Launch vehicle Ariane 5 ECA
    Bands Ka-band, Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer EADS Astrium
  • ASTRA 5B will extend transponder capacity and geographical reach over Eastern European and neighbouring markets for DTH, direct-to- cable and contribution feeds to digital terrestrial television networks. It will also carry a hosted L-band payload for the European Commission’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).

ASTRA 2G

  • About
  • Satellite Mission
  • Footprint
  • Expected launch date 2014, Q1
    Orbital location 28.2°E
    Launch vehicle
    Bands Ka-band, Ku-band
    Design Life 15 years
    Satellite manufacturer EADS Astrium
  • ASTRA 2G will enable the delivery of next generation broadcast, VSAT and broadband services in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and will carry Ku- and Ka-band payloads at the prime orbital location of 28.2°East.

Fleet and coverage

Coverage