NSAB Commissions SIRIUS 4 with Lockheed Martin for launch in Q2, 2007
12 Jan, 2005
Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to design and manufacture the SIRIUS 4 satellite. NSAB is 75%-owned by SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) and 25%-owned by SSC (Swedish Space Corporation). Terms of the contract remain confidential.
SIRIUS 4 will be a multi-mission Ku/Ka-band satellite to be built on Lockheed Martin’s reliable A2100AX platform with a minimum service life of 15 years. The spacecraft will be designed to be compatible with all flight-proven commercial launch vehicles and NSAB intends to select the respective launch service provider later on in the year. The satellite will be deployed at NSAB’s orbital position of 5° East in the second quarter of 2007.
Multi-mission European and African coverage
The first mission of SIRIUS 4 will be to provide replacement capacity for NSAB’s existing SIRIUS 2 and SIRIUS 3 satellites in the Nordic and Baltic markets as well as to enhance coverage in Eastern Europe and Russia. This mission is supported by 46 active Ku-band transponders in the BSS and FSS frequency bands.
As a second mission SIRIUS 4 will provide one wide beam Ka-Band transponder for interactive applications in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
The third mission of SIRIUS 4 will be to provide a sub-Saharan Africa beam complementing existing (ASTRA 2B) or upcoming (ASTRA 4A) African coverage within the SES GLOBAL fleet. This mission will be supported by a payload consisting of 6 active Ku-Band transponders and an additional Ka-Band transponder for inter-connections between Africa and Europe.
Comments Per Norman, General Manager of NSAB: “The procurement of the state-of-the-art SIRIUS 4 satellite gives NSAB’s existing customers long-term planning security and positions the Company to capture new growth opportunities in emerging markets in Europe, Russia and the Ukraine. With SIRIUS 4’s African beam complementing existing or planned coverage of Africa within the SES GLOBAL fleet, the spacecraft is furthermore another example of fruitful synergies between SES GLOBAL Operating and Partner companies.”
Ted Gavrilis, President of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, stated: "We are extremely gratified that yet another operator within the SES GLOBAL Group has turned to Lockheed Martin to provide a powerful, reliable satellite designed to fulfill all mission requirements. By leveraging our experience on ASTRA-1KR/1L and other programs, we are able to provide our customer with confidence that SIRIUS 4 will be delivered on schedule while meeting the stringent quality requirements demanded of the industry and demonstrated by the A2100 platform.”
For further information please contact:
Yves Feltes
Press Relations SES GLOBAL
Tel + 352 710725311
Yves.Feltes@ses-global.com
www.ses-global.com
Per Norman
General Manager, Nordic Satellite AB
Tel +46 8 505 645 00
Per.norman@nsab-sirius.com
About NSAB
Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB-SIRIUS) owns and operates satellites in the SIRIUS system (SIRIUS 2 and 3). SIRIUS is a leading satellite system that offers cost-effective solutions for TV and radio broadcasts and broadband services in the Nordic and Baltic regions and in Central and Eastern Europe. The satellites are positioned at 5o East and offer extremely reliable connections throughout Europe.
About Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems markets, designs and builds geostationary and non-geostationary telecommunications and remote sensing satellites for customers worldwide. LMCSS is an operating unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, one of the core business areas of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Lockheed Martin has a 45-year heritage of building reliable spacecraft for commercial and military customers, having launched more than 875 spacecraft and clocking over 1,500 years of on-orbit performance experience.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people worldwide and is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation reported 2003 sales of $31.8 billion.
About SES ASTRA http://www.ses-astra.com
The ASTRA Satellite System is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe, delivering services to more than 94 million Direct-to-Home and cable households. The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting in excess of 1400 analogue and digital television and radio channels as well as multimedia and Internet services. ASTRA’s two prime orbital positions for DTH services are 19.2° East and 28.2° East. Professional services such as Direct-to cable (DTC), Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) and Occasional Use are offered from the orbital position of 23.5° East.
SES ASTRA is an SES GLOBAL company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES GLOBAL wholly owns two market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, and SES AMERICOM in the US. The Company also holds strategic participations in AsiaSat in Asia, Star One and Nahuelsat in Latin America, and NSAB in Europe. SES GLOBAL can provide outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 40 satellites across the globe. In addition, SES GLOBAL is a shareholder in ORBCOMM, a provider of wireless data communications services through a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, and in satellite technology company ND Satcom. SES GLOBAL is also a founding shareholder in SATLYNX, a Luxembourg-based joint venture with Gilat and Alcatel Space, which has created an unrivalled portfolio of reliable and cost-efficient two-way satellite broadband service solutions to enterprises/corporates, small office/home office (SOHO) users and local communities all over Europe. Additional info on SES GLOBAL at: http://www.ses-global.com
