SES Astra, a unit of SES Global [Luxembourg: SESG],has signed two contracts with Greek telecom service provider Hellas Sat to provide services for its recently launched communications satellite. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Astra has been contracted to provide telemetry, tracking and command services for the new Eurostar 2000+ type satellite, manufactured by Astrium, of France. For one year, Astra will ensure control of the satellite’s operations, including spacecraft bus, payload and orbital control management from Astra’s headquarters in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, and the Thermopylae earth station, Greece.

Under the second contact, Astra will provide, install, and integrate two ground control stations for Hellas Sat, located in Greece and Cyprus, respectively. After completion of the two stations, the in-orbit control of the satellite will be transferred from Astra to Hellas Sat.

The Hellas Sat satellite was blasted into a geosynchronous transfer orbit on May 13 at 6: 41 p.m. EST from the Cape Canaveral Air Force station by the Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V rocket placed the satellite into transfer orbit: apogee of 85,458 kilometers, perigee of 312.2 kilometers, and an inclination of 17.06 degrees. Launch services were provided by International Launch Services (ILS). This was the second launch of the Atlas V rocket built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]