The SES-6 satellite roared into space on board an ILS Proton Breeze M booster on Monday, June 3, at 15:18:31 pm Baikonur time.
After a 15-hour, 31-minute mission, the Breeze M upper stage of the Proton rocket successfully released the SES-6 satellite directly into geostationary transfer orbit.
Following the successful launch, SES also announces the Brazilian telecommunication group Oi is a new anchor customer who signed a significant long-term capacity agreement to provide Direct-to-Home (DTH) services in Brazil. With the agreement, Oi becomes the largest user of the new satellite.
“With SES-6, Oi has access to significant additional satellite capacity at exactly the right time in order to take its pay-TV services to the next level of development,” said James Meaney, COO of Oi. “We will be able to meet consumers’ demand for a greater diversity of channels, many in high-definition, as soon as possible.”
“This very important capacity agreement for a large part of the Ku-band transponders of SES-6 enables Oi to launch a new DTH platform for the Brazilian market,” said Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES.
“This agreement is a quantum leap for us in this very important and dynamically growing market, demonstrating how satellites substantially support telecommunication companies in the development and delivery of triple- and quadruple-play hybrid services. In addition, by early replacing the NSS-806 satellite and by adding new C-band capacity, the investment into the SES-6 satellite reflects our strong focus on the Latin American market and the development of an important video neighborhood at the 40.5 degrees West orbital position.”
SES-6 replaces SES’ NSS-806 satellite at the prime orbital position of 40.5 degrees West, providing continuity of service and expansion capacity in the C-band for video neighborhoods in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has comprehensive coverage of North America, Latin America, Europe and the Atlantic Ocean.
SES-6 was built by EADS Astrium in Toulouse, France, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is equipped with 43 C-band and 48 Ku-band transponders. SES-6 had a launch mass of 6,100 kg, features a wingspan of 40m once its solar arrays are deployed in orbit, and is designed for 13 kW of spacecraft power at the end of its 15-year design lifetime.
“We would like to thank Astrium and ILS for the successful SES-6 mission. The 53rd satellite in SES’ global fleet provides significant capacity expansion at a strategic orbital slot over the Americas, both for a compelling DTH offer to Brazilian audiences as well as for cable distribution across Latin America and the Caribbean. We will work closely with Oi to deploy and roll out these new services to the Brazilian audience”, concluded Romain Bausch, president and CEO of SES.
