SES Americom release
AMC-23 Satellite Slated for December 6 Launch
Hybrid Spacebus 4000 Spacecraft to Deliver Mobile Broadband and Network
Services
November 22, 2005 - Princeton, NJ - The AMERICOM-23 (AMC-23) satellite,
of SES AMERICOM, an SES GLOBAL Company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg
Stock Exchanges: SESG), was delivered to Baikonur, Kazakhstan on
November 4 to be readied for its Proton/Breeze M launch scheduled for
the morning of December 6 local time (evening of December 5 EST). The
Spacebus 4000 spacecraft was built by Alcatel Alenia Space and is being
launched by International Launch Services (ILS) for service at the 172
degrees East longitude orbital position.
The spacecraft, along with an array of testing equipment and systems,
was packed into nine crates weighing more than 85 metric tons and then
loaded on a special purpose Antonov cargo plane. The flight left Nice,
France on November 3, 2004 and arrived the following day. The plane's
cargo was unloaded and the combined satellite program teams from
AMERICOM and Alcatel immediately began a rigorous sequence of pre-launch
preparations. These preparations include launch site testing, spacecraft
fueling, integrating the satellite into the fairing, mating the fairing
with the Proton/Breeze M, a final set of tests, and roll-out of the
rocket to the launch pad.
AMC-23 is an advanced, high-powered hybrid C/Ku-band satellite, from
which signals can be received and sent from California to Bangladesh,
from as far north as Alaska in the U.S. and as far south as Australia
and New Zealand, and all points in between. This spacecraft will serve
local, transcontinental and transoceanic customers across the Pacific
region, including Western North America, East Asia, the South Pacific,
Alaska and Hawaii, and provide links to the world's premier regional
satellite systems.
The design of AMC-23 combines a conventional C-band landmass coverage
payload with an innovative Ku-band oceanic coverage payload. The
satellite's Ku-band payload, comprised of 20 high-powered transponders
with varied bandwidths from 27 to 36 MHz, has been tailored to the
long-haul airline routes over the Pacific Ocean to ensure consistent and
constant broadband connectivity requirements of our customer, Connexion
by Boeing. In comparison, the 18 transponder C-band payload will be used
by broadcasters, cable programmers, Internet service providers,
government agencies, educational institutions, carriers and private
networks for next generation distribution solutions within, and
connectivity to, North America and Pacific Rim.
"We compliment the Alcatel Alenia Space team for delivering this very
sophisticated satellite, which we designed to address a spectrum of
customer applications for the next decade and beyond," said Ed Horowitz,
President and CEO of SES AMERICOM. He continued, "We have entrusted this
important spacecraft to ILS for an on-time and on-target launch in early
December; we have customers on both sides of the Pacific waiting to use
both payloads in early 2006."
About Alcatel Alenia Space
Alcatel Alenia Space, leader in satellite systems and at the forefront
of orbit infrastructures, brings together the vast experience and
know-how of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio to form a new leading force
in European space technology. Alcatel Alenia Space represents a
worldwide standard for space development that impacts everybody's
future: from navigation to telecommunications, from meteorology to
environmental monitoring, from defence to science and observation. An
affiliate of Alcatel (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%), Alcatel Alenia Space
generated an estimated turnover of 1.8 billion euros with around 7,200
people in 2004.
About International Launch Services
ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. in the United States,
manufacturer of the Atlas rocket, and Khrunichev State Research and
Production Space Center of Russia, builder of the Proton rocket. ILS
provides launch services on the Atlas and Proton vehicles to customers
worldwide.
About SES AMERICOM
The largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S., SES AMERICOM is
recognized as a pioneer of global satellite communications services.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite,
the company today operates a fleet of 18 spacecraft in orbital positions
predominantly providing service throughout the Americas. As a member of
the SES GLOBAL family, SES AMERICOM is able to provide end-to-end
telecommunications solutions to any region of the world via a fleet of
40 satellites. In addition, AMERICOM Government Services, a wholly owned
subsidiary, is dedicated to providing satellite-based communications
solutions to both civilian and defense agencies of the U.S. government.
With its combined operations, SES AMERICOM serves broadcasters, cable
programmers, aeronautical and maritime communications integrators,
Internet service providers, mobile communications networks, government
agencies, educational institutions, carriers and secure global data
networks with efficient communication and content distribution
solutions. For more information, visit www.ses-americom.com.
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