SES today announced new satellite launch vehicle contracts covering the majority of the satellite launch requirements for the SES group between 2009 and 2013. These “multi-launch agreements” ensure that each SES satellite will have a primary as well as a back-up launch vehicle, each with two launch slots, providing utmost planning security and flexibility for the company’s ambitious launch schedule.
SES Satellite Leasing Ltd has signed separate agreements with Arianespace and ILS for five satellite launches each. Arianespace will provide Ariane 5 or Soyuz boosters to be launched out of the European Space Port in Kourou (French Guyana). ILS will provide Proton Breeze M boosters launching from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The multi-launch agreements include options for additional
launches, and represent the largest single launch services contract to date both for Arianespace and ILS. Terms of the contracts remain confidential.
