SES signs new satellite service contracts with Arianespace, Airbus Defence and Space
SES has announced the order of launch services from Arianespace for its new all-electric SES-15 satellite. It is the 41st launch service contract signed by SES with Arianespace. SES has also officially signed the contract for its new SES-14 satellite with Airbus Defence and Space. This order had already been announced on 16 February.
The signing ceremony for the two contracts was held at the headquarters of SES in Betzdorf in Luxembourg, under the high patronage of François Hollande, President of the French Republic, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg. The contracts were signed, respectively, by Martin Halliwelll, Chief Technology Officer of SES, Stéphane Israël, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, and François Auque, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
SES-15 will be launched on an Ariane 5 in the second quarter of 2017 from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s spaceport, in French Guiana. SES-15 will operate at the new orbital position of 129 degrees West for North America.
SES-14 will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2017 and will operate at 47.5/48 degrees West in order to address growth opportunities in dynamic markets, fast-growing commercial segments and thriving video services for the American continents and in the North Atlantic region.
Martin Halliwell, CTO of SES, stated: “For more than twenty-five years, Arianespace and SES have developed an exceptional partnership. Not only is SES-15 the 41st launch service contract signed with Arianespace, but it is also the second all-electrical satellite to be launched by Arianespace, following the announcement of the award of the launch contract of SES-12 in January 2015. The contracts with Arianespace and Airbus Defence and Space clearly demonstrate the important roles played for us by the European aerospace industry and French industry, with a view to realising our strategy and achieving our growth targets across all markets and sectors.”
Stéphane Israël added: “For the second time since the beginning of 2015, SES has chosen Arianespace to launch their satellites, both for the renewal and expansion of its fleet, with SES-12 and SES-15. These two all-electric satellites, the first in the SES fleet, confirm the technological developments underway in the communication satellite sector. The trust placed in Arianespace by SES demonstrates that Ariane 5 meets all resulting needs. Many thanks to SES for the new impetus that this 41st contract has injected into the partnership which has united us for more than 25 years. We are particularly proud to announce this contract in the presence of the highest authorities in both our countries.”
“SES-14, a particularly innovative satellite, is the second all-electric satellite that SES has ordered from us in less than a year, thus demonstrating once again its ability to adapt in a constantly evolving market,” said François Auque, head of space systems at Airbus Defence and Space. “We are happy to make the best of our technological innovations available to them, at both payload and platform levels. With regard to SES-14, as with SES-12 ordered last July, the weight saved by the use of the electric propulsion has meant that a single satellite is capable of fulfilling two significant roles which would normally require two conventional satellites. SES-14 is the 12th Eurostar satellite ordered by SES at Airbus Defence and Space, nine of which are in operational service and two are still being built.”