ASTRA 3B Satellite Scheduled for Launch on 21 May 2010
Thursday, May 20th, 2010New Satellite at 23.5 Degrees East to Deliver Services to Europe and the Middle East
LUXEMBOURG –SES ASTRA , an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), announced today that the launch of its new satellite ASTRA 3B has now been scheduled for 21st May 2010. The satellite will be launched into space from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana onboard an Ariane 5 ECA rocket between 19:01 and 19:44 pm local time (22nd May, 00:01 and 00:44 am Central European Summer Time). The launch had been postponed in order to replace a defective component in the launch vehicle’s pressurization system.
ASTRA 3B was built by EADS Astrium in Toulouse using a Eurostar E3000 platform. It offers 60 Ku and four Ka-band transponders (after the first five years 56 Ku- and four Ka-band transponders) and will be located at 23.5 degrees East. It will deliver Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast services to the Benelux and Eastern Europe, and serve public and private satellite communication networks across Europe and the Middle East.
ASTRA 3B will allow SES ASTRA to extend its geographical coverage and its service, and offer DTH TV reception from Spain to the Black Sea. It will also help SES ASTRA to further optimize the spectrum use at 23.5 degrees East. ASTRA 3B will join ASTRA 3A and enable SES ASTRA to release its satellites ASTRA 1E and ASTRA 1G for other missions. ASTRA 1E and ASTRA 1G are currently positioned at 23.5 degrees East.
The video broadcast of the launch is available via ASTRA`s orbital position 23.5 degrees East, channel 3.224, downlink frequency 12168.00 Mhz, vertical polarisation, symbol rate 27.50 MSym/s, FEC 3/4, service ID 5250, service name Astra 3B Launch or via www.arianespace.com.
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