SES NEW SKIES’ NSS-9 Satellite Arrives in Kourou for February 12 Launch on Ariane-5
SES NEW SKIES, an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) announces that its NSS-9 satellite has safely arrived at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, onboard an Antonov cargo plane. The NSS-9 spacecraft, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), will now be readied for launch onboard an Ariane 5 booster, scheduled for take off on February 12, 2009. The launch window for NSS-9 onboard Ariane 5 opens at 22:09 GMT time.
The NSS-9 spacecraft will be positioned at the orbital location of 183 degrees East, carries 44 active C-band transponders, and features three beams that can interconnect on a transponder-by-transponder basis: A global beam providing coverage of the entire earth visible from 183 degrees East; a West Hemi beam (covering Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, China, Korea and the Pacific Islands); and an East Hemi beam (providing coverage and connectivity to the U.S., Hawaii and Polynesia).
The NSS-9 satellite is specified for a minimum service life of 15 years. Based on Orbital’s Star 2 satellite bus, the spacecraft has a launch mass of 2230 kilograms, a payload power of 2.3 kW, and features command encryption as well as key redundant on-board systems to provide maximum operational security.
States Rob Bednarek, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES: “NSS-9 is an important spacecraft in our strategy going forward. The new satellite will allow us to provide seamless continuity at 183 degrees East for a wide range of customers including broadcasters, government users, carriers across the Pacific islands and from the maritime industry.”
“NSS-9 will free up the NSS-5 satellite to be redeployed to a new orbital location and new missions,” said Martin Halliwell, President of SES ENGINEERING. “SES looks forward to another Ariane-5 success as the combined teams of Arianespace, Orbital Sciences and SES go through the NSS-9 launch count down over the next few weeks.”
