SES has selected Boeing to build a new communication satellite, SES-9, to serve the fast growing markets in Asia.
The contract includes an option for an additional satellite. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
SES said the new satellite will expand the company’s capabilities to provide direct-to-home broadcasting and other communications services in Northeast Asia, South Asia and Indonesia, as well as maritime communications for vessels in the Indian Ocean.
SES-9, which is the 11th spacecraft that SES has ordered from Boeing, is designed to operate for 15 years in geosynchronous orbit with a 12.7-kilowatt payload and 57 high-power Ku-band transponders (equivalent to 81 x 36 MHz transponders). The spacecraft will carry a xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) for all on-orbit maneuvering and a chemical bi-propellant system for initial orbit raising.
The spacecraft will be positioned at the orbital slot of 108.2 degrees East and provide incremental as well as replacement capacity to this well established SES slot over Asia, where it will be co-located with the existing SES-7 and NSS-11 satellites, SES said.