SES WORLD SKIES recently said that its NSS-12 satellite safely arrived at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, onboard an Antonov cargo plane, in preparation for launch onboard an Ariane 5 booster, scheduled for lift off on October 29.
The NSS-12 spacecraft is manufactured by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications [LORL].
The powerful, state-of-the-art NSS-12 satellite will provide comprehensive and robust coverage of some of the world’s fastest-growing markets. The spacecraft will replace NSS- 703 at 57 degrees East and cover virtually the entire Eastern Hemisphere, bringing increased capacity and transmission power to a key orbital location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. The spacecraft features 40 C-band transponders and 48 Ku-band transponders with DTH power levels, as well as elaborate beam interconnectivity and C-/Ku-band cross-strapping. NSS-12 is based on SS/L’s space-proven 1300 platform and has been designed to have a minimum expected lifetime of 15 years.
NSS-12 will deliver DTH power and performance through four regional Ku-band spot beams over the Middle East and Europe, Central and South Asia and, for the first time, East Africa. The satellite’s high-capacity, high-power C-band hemispheric beams – one covering Europe, Africa (including Mauritius) and the Middle East, and the other stretching across Asia to Australia – have been augmented by a powerful C-band global beam spanning from the UK to the Far East. The satellite will reach an estimated two-thirds of the world’s population.
States Rob Bednarek, President and CEO of SES WORLD SKIES: “NSS-12 will be the largest and most powerful satellite in the SES WORLD SKIES fleet and an important spacecraft in our strategy going forward. The new satellite will allow us to provide seamless continuity and significant incremental capacity at a key orbital location, allowing existing and future customers to introduce new services, expand into new markets and replicate the success of the various video, government and enterprise applications currently transmitted via 57 degrees East.”
“SES currently has three additional spacecraft under construction with Space Systems/Loral, but NSS-12 marks the first SS/L launch for the SES Group,” said Martin Halliwell, President of SES ENGINEERING. “We look forward to another Ariane-5 success as the combined teams of Arianespace, Space Systems/Loral and SES go through the NSS-12 launch count down over the next few weeks.”