[Satellite Today 11-06-08] SES Astra’s Astra 1M satellite has successfully been launched, the company said Nov. 6.
    The satellite, which will be located at SES Astra’s prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East for delivering DTH services including HDTV to Continental Europe, was launched into space onboard a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, yesterday evening at 21.44 (02.44 am local time today).
    The satellite will be brought into its final orbital position within the next weeks and will be made commercially available in January after extensive in-orbit testing. Ferdinand Kayser, SES Astra CEO commented, “Astra 1M will benefit our customers and allow them to broadcast additional high definition channels. The success of the Astra 1M launch is an important milestone for SES Astra and we would like to underline the very good cooperation with our launch partners, International Launch Services (ILS) and EADS Astrium.”