SES and EchoStar have boosted their strategic partnership by agreeing a new satellite to be located in the 105 degrees West position.
The satellite – SES-11, also to be known as EchoStar 105 – will be manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, and launched into in Q4 2016.
SES-11 will carry 24 Ku-band transponders, as well as 24 C-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent). It will have a separated mass of approximately 5,400 kg and an end of life budget for the payloads of approximately 12 kW.
The spacecraft’s Ku-band capacity will replace the existing SES satellite AMC-15 at 105 degrees West, an orbital position where EchoStar has been SES’s anchor customer since 2006. The spacecraft’s C-band capacity will also allow SES to provide replacement capacity for AMC-18 at 105 degrees West.
Commenting on the development, Anders Johnson, EchoStar Satellite Services president, said: “The market for 50-state transponder capacity in North America has demonstrated significant growth for EchoStar Satellite Services over the past five years – the acquisition of EchoStar 105 renews our commitment to the fixed satellite services market in North America.
“The replacement of AMC-15, with the increased capability offered by EchoStar 105, will allow us to meet the evolving demand from our customers for enterprise, broadcast, and government services applications. We are pleased to work with Airbus Defence and Space to provide our customers with new, high power satellite capacity at this established orbital slot.”
Martin Halliwell, CTO of SES, added: “SES-11 is the 6th large satellite contract with our longstanding partner EchoStar. The new spacecraft will offer comprehensive coverage of the Americas, including Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean, from a well-established orbital position. Together with EchoStar we look forward to a successful mission in collaboration with our reliable industry partner Airbus Defence.”
