SES Astra has announced the start of a new orbital position at 31.5 degrees East. The operator is moving the elderly Sirius 2 from 5 degrees East to the new position and will rename the satellite Astra 5A.
The Sirius 2 move has been made possible by the successful launch of Sirius 4 at the end of last year. It will allow the company to operate satellite services at up to 40 new broadcasting frequencies (BSS) serving markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The 5 degrees East position already broadcasts into the Baltics, with Eutelsat, Telenor and Spacecom/Amos all looking at the CEE market.
With the introduction of the new position, SES Astra and SES Sirius will have a total of five orbital positions with their fleet of 13 Astra and two Sirius satellites.
