SES New Skies announced that the AMC-12/ASTRA 4A and AAP-1 satellites have been transferred to New Skies and have subsequently be re-named. The spacecraft will from now on be known as NSS-10 and NSS-11.
The SES New Skies fleet now comprises seven spacecraft optimized for connectivity between the different regions of the world, as well as for the provision of regional interconnection and distribution capacity serving those parts of the world outside of Europe and North America.
The SES New Skies satellites as of today are: NSS-11 (formerly AAP-1) at 108.2° East, NSS-10 (formerly AMC-12/ASTRA 4A) at 322.5° East, NSS-806 at 319.5° East, NSS-7 at 338°East, NSS-703 at 57° East, NSS-6 at 95° East and NSS-5 at 183° East. In addition, SES New Skies has also assumed commercial responsibility for the West Africa beam on ASTRA 2B at 28.2° East.
Together, the satellites provide global coverage, with the transferred satellites boosting fleet capacity at the company by 48%, from 215 to 318 transponders. The additional capacity comprises 67 transponders on NSS-10 (reduced from the maximum 72 due to current beam
configuration), 28 transponders on NSS-11 and the 8 transponders on the West Africa beam of ASTRA 2B.
SES New Skies will further enhance its orbital resources through the addition of NSS-9 in 2009. Positioned at 183° East, it will allow NSS-5 to replace the NSS-703 satellite as it nears the end of its life.
