SES has ordered its second and third all-electric satellites while also announcing the first spacecraft for its Luxembourg joint venture LuxGovSat.
The new SES-14 and SES-15 all-electrics will be built by Airbus Defence and Space and Boeing,…
SES has ordered its second and third all-electric satellites while also announcing the first spacecraft for its Luxembourg joint venture LuxGovSat.
The new SES-14 and SES-15 all-electrics will be built by Airbus Defence and Space and Boeing, respectively. LuxGovSat, a joint venture it shares with Luxembourg’s government, picked the newly-merged Orbital ATK for its SES-16/GovSat bird.
SES-14 aims to replace an existing bird called NSS-806 at 47.5/48W in Q4 2017, while also adding new capacity with its C- and Ku-band wide beam, as well as Ku- and Ka-band high throughput satellite services across the Americas and the North Atlantic region.
Airbus DS is also building SES 12, which the operator ordered last year to become its first satellite to use electric propulsion for initial orbit raising.
SES-15 will be launched in Q2 2017 to a new orbital slot for North America that SES declined to disclose. It also features a hybrid payload, with additional Ku-band wide beams and Ku- as well as Ka-band HTS capability.
The company said SES-15 will work alongside SES-14 to solidify its positioning in the aeronautical mobility and government markets.
Both satellites are being funded through free cash flow.
As previously reported, the €225m (US$266m) SES-16 bird will be partly funded by a €125m bank loan from a consortium of Luxembourg banks. SES and Luxembourg’s government will also each invest €50m.
The public-private partnership aims to launch the spacecraft in Q2 2017 to 21.5E, where it will cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa with X-band and military Ka-band for government missions.
Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES, said: “The procurement of SES-16/GovSat opens a new chapter in the strategically important government business vertical and in the cooperation between SES and the Luxembourg government.
“SES-16/GovSat will ensure flexibility for the ever-changing missions of governments and institutions in the security, defence and civil arenas and will allow for the deployment of integrated and smart end-to-end managed solutions for these demanding customers.”
