Sirius 4 Satellite Now Operational
30 Jan, 2008
SOLNA (Sweden), 30 January 2008. – SES SIRIUS, an SES ASTRA company, announced today that the Sirius 4 communications satellite is now in operation and has taken over all transmissions from Sirius 2 and Sirius 3. Since it was launched on 18 November, everything has worked exactly according to plan. SES ASTRA is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). The Swedish Space Corporation is a minority shareholder in SES SIRIUS.
Sirius 4 has now been installed at its final position, 4.8 degrees East. At the same time all channels from its sister satellites, Sirius 2 and 3, have been transferred to the new satellite. Sirius 4 is intended to meet the increased demand for HDTV broadcasts in the Nordic countries and the needs arising from the large increase in new television channels in Eastern Europe.
"The demand for HD channels will increase sharply in the years ahead, and we operators need to be prepared in terms of capacity. An HDTV broadcast requires 16 Mbit/s of bandwidth, compared with 4 Mbit/s for a standard definition broadcast," says Håkan Sjödin, Managing Director of SES Sirius.
Sirius 4 allows the commercialisation of 46 Ku band transponders in the Nordic region, the Baltic States, Central and Eastern Europe. This represents an increase of seven transponders for these regions after the switch from Sirius 2 and Sirius 3 to Sirius 4. Moreover the new satellite will make available another six additional transponders for the African market as well as Ka band capacity for interactive services in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Sirius 4 is expected to be in operation for at least 15 years. As well as television broadcasts, it will also accommodate broadband communication. The new satellite covers virtually the whole of Europe, but the focus is on the Nordic region, the Baltic States and Central and Eastern Europe. Sirius 4 also has the capacity to reach southern Africa.
Sirius 4 was built by Lockheed Martin in California, where it was also tested and subjected to extreme conditions similar to those during launch and operation. The launch took place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Central Asia. The satellite was carried by an ILS Proton rocket that successfully launched the satellite into its orbit, 36,000 km above the Earth's surface. At that altitude, the orbit period is 24 hours, which means that the satellites are stationary in relation to the Earth. The satellite is controlled from the Swedish Space Corporation's satellite control station at Esrange in Kiruna, which ensures that it maintains its position.
For further information please contact:
Håkan Sjödin
Managing Director
SES SIRIUS AB
+46 8 505 645 00
hakan.sjodin@ses-sirius.com
Anna-Karin Modigh
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
SES SIRIUS AB
+46 8 505 645 68, +46 708 94 25 86
anna-karin.modigh@ses-sirius.com
About SES SIRIUS AB
SES SIRIUS AB owns and operates the SIRIUS satellite system which 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. SIRIUS is positioned at 5 degrees East and offers 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.
