SES Loses Astra 5A Satellite

[Satellite Today 01-20-09] SES Astra‘s Astra 5A satellite experienced a technical anomaly that led to the loss of the satellite, SES announced Jan. 16.
    SES Astra has informed affected customers and switched a substantial part of the traffic to another Astra satellite at the 23.5 degrees East orbital position. The service for the German cable operators, through their company KDL, is among the transferred services.
    Swedish Space Corp. (SSC), which operates Astra 5A, and the satellite’s manufacturer, Thales Alenia Space, are working on de-orbiting the satellite and, along with SES Astra, are investigating the root cause of the incident. Astra 5A, formerly Sirius 2, was launched in November 1997 and positioned at 31.5 degrees East.
    Separately, SES New Skies announced that its NSS-9 satellite has arrived at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The NSS-9 satellite, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corp., and is scheduled for launch by Arianespace mid-February.