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SES Orders Tenth Satellite, Astra 3A, From Boeing Satellite Services

By Staff Writer | December 6, 2000

      Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES), operator of the Astra system, has ordered its tenth satellite, the Astra 3A, from the Boeing Satellite Systems subsidiary of The Boeing Co. [BA], formerly Hughes Space and Communications Co.

      Astra 3A will be SES’s first satellite at a new orbital slot at 23.5 degreesE. It will be a high-power Boeing 376HP design and is scheduled for launch in 2002. The delivery- in-orbit contract also includes launch services and earth station control software.

      A launch services provider will be announced later. The payload will consist of 24 Ku-band transponders, 20 of them active.

      Astra 3A will provide DBS services to the German-language areas of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The satellite will augment SES’s current fleet of 13 satellites to help meet the growing demand for digital satellite services.

      “SES is confident that Astra 3A, like Astra 2C and Astra 2D, also currently under construction by Boeing Satellite Systems, will once again meet SES’s stringent quality standards for high-performance spacecraft,” said Romain Bausch, chairman and director general of SES.