SES has ordered its tenth bird from Airbus Defence and Space as the satellite operator seeks to build on its 67W orbital slot covering the growing Latin American market.
SES-10 will use ITU filings previously granted to Andean countries Bolivia,…
SES has ordered its tenth bird from Airbus Defence and Space as the satellite operator seeks to build on its 67W orbital slot covering the growing Latin American market.
SES-10 will use ITU filings previously granted to Andean countries Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru for a satellite called Simon Bolivar 2.
Simon Bolivar 1, renamed Venesat-1, was filed when Venezuela was part of the Andean trade bloc and launched to 78W in 2008 under the ownership of that country’s government.
SES has been operating from 67W since 2010, and the company said its latest satellite will provide replacement capacity for its AMC-3 and AMC-4 birds already in the region, as well as expanding coverage across Latin America and the Caribbean with 50 Ku-band transponders.
CEO Romain Bausch said: “SES-10 will provide our customers in Latin America with new, high power satellite capacity for multiple applications at an established orbital slot.
“We are delighted to broaden our partnership with the Andean Community with a satellite built specifically for use in the Simon Bolivar 2 satellite network, offering opportunities for expanded commercial, economic and social benefits for the Andean region.”
In a conference call with journalists he added that, in return for using the orbital filings, the Andean community has access to a defined amount of capacity on the satellite at “very favourable terms and conditions”, which would likely be used for government projects such as broadband in schools or e-health.
SES also said SpaceX will be launching the spacecraft in H2 2016. An SES mission back in December was the first time the US launcher had launched a geostationary satellite to transfer orbit. As a result, the operator secured a heavily discounted launch 1 + 3 package for that deal.
Before the SES-10 mission in 2016, it has announced plans to use SpaceX to launch SES-9 in H1 2015, leaving two missions left under its initial agreement.
Airbus DS, formerly Astrium, said SES-10 will be based on its Eurostar E3000 platform, using electric plasma propulsion for station-keeping and a more conventional chemical system for reaching its orbit after launch, as well as for some on-orbit manoeuvres after that.
François Auque, head of space systems at the manufacturer, said the order demonstrates its customers’ faith in its electrical propulsion technology for station-keeping.
He said it is a technology “that we are among the few in the world to be able to demonstrate in orbit, something we have now been doing for 10 years”.
Latin America’s potential for being a high growth market has attracted a number of international players, and recently saw SES rival Eutelsat by Mexican operator Satmex.
Mexico’s auction of two orbital slots next month is expected to attract significant interest from domestic and global operators, spurred by the country removing a 49% stake limit on direct foreign investments in companies within the telecoms sector, including satellite operators.
