Astra 1P has completed comprehensive testing and is now fully operational at the orbital position 19.2° East, according to satellite operator SES.
Following its successful in-orbit raising and performance testing, Astra 1P will now start serving public and commercial broadcasters, sports organisations and content owners. Equipped with 80 transponders, the wide-beam satellite can support hundreds of HD TV channels serving key European TV markets.
“With Astra 1P now fully operational, we are setting a new standard for satellite broadcasting in Europe,” said Milton Torres, CTO of SES. “This new offering will enhance our ability to deliver premium content with superior reliability and image quality to 118 million TV households. This includes sports and events content, where we are seeing growing demand from viewers, as well as sports leagues, teams, federations and rights holders.”
Built by Thales Alenia Space, Astra 1P was successfully launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on 20 June 2024 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The next addition to the Astra fleet at 19.2° East will be Astra 1Q, scheduled to launch in 2027. By 2028, Astra 1P and Astra 1Q will seamlessly replace the current satellites at 19.2° East, continuing the delivery of content to DTH satellite households and cable headends across Europe.
