New Satellite SIRIUS 4 Ready for Launch
15 Nov, 2007
SES SIRIUS, an SES ASTRA company, announced today that its new satellite SIRIUS 4 has been fully integrated into the fairing of the launch vehicle, a Proton rocket, and is ready for launch on 18 November at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellite, an A2100 AX type built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, is being launched by International Launch Services (ILS) into SIRIUS orbital position 5 degrees East. SES ASTRA is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG).
The launch of SIRIUS 4 will allow SES SIRIUS to further strengthen its satellite fleet and will provide broadcast and broadband services for SES SIRIUS customers across Europe, with an extended reach into Eastern Europe. SIRIUS 4 will also carry an African beam which will be marketed by SES ASTRA.
"The launch of SIRIUS 4 will benefit all our customers across Europe", said Håkan Sjödin, Managing Director of SES SIRIUS. "It will have an extended coverage of Eastern Europe, where we see our market expansion and, with its 52 Ku-band transponders, will also offer large bandwidth capacity to meet the growing demand for HDTV services."
For further information please contact:
Håkan Sjödin Anna-Karin Modigh
SES SIRIUS AB SES SIRIUS AB
+46 8 505 645 00 +46 8 505 645 68
+46 708 94 25 85 +46 708 94 25 86
hakan.sjodin@ses-sirius.com anna-karin.modigh@ses-sirius.com
Webcast and photos will be available at www.ses-sirius.com.
Details for SIRIUS 4 launch broadcast - test signals begin about 03.45 local time
(17 Nov 22:45 CET). Transmission on SIRIUS 2, transponder 29 with following reception parameters:
Downlink frequency: 12,265 MHz / downlink polarization: horizontal /
Transponder transmission rate: 27500 QPSK FEC 3/4
Service name: SIRIUS4 launch
About SES SIRIUS AB
SES SIRIUS AB owns and operates the SIRIUS satellite system (SIRIUS 2 and 3). SIRIUS is a leading satellite system in the Nordic and Baltic countries and Central and Eastern Europe. It offers cost-effective solutions for TV and radio broadcasts and broadband services in these regions. The SIRIUS satellites are positioned at 5 degrees East and offer reliable communication links across Europe.
SES SIRIUS AB is 75-percent owned by SES ASTRA, one of the world's leading satellite operators, and 25-percent by the state-owned company the Swedish Space Corporation.
About ILS www.ilslaunch.com
International Launch Services is a U.S.-Russian joint venture, between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center with RSC Energia. ILS has the exclusive rights for worldwide commercial sales and mission management of satellite launches on Russia's premier vehicle, the Proton, and the future Angara vehicle. ILS is incorporated in Delaware in the United States, and is headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.
About Lockheed Martin www.lockheedmartin.com
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
