SES TO STRENGTHEN ASTRA FLEET AT 28.2° EAST FOR DIGITAL SATELLITE SERVICES TARGETING THE UK AND EIRE ASTRA 1D to re-locate to 28.2° East ahead of ASTRA 2B

Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) announces that it will temporarily re-locate its ASTRA 1D spacecraft from the orbital location of 19.2° East to 28.2° East. The in-orbit maneuver, scheduled for completion by early December, will bring forward additional committed ASTRA capacity at SES' second orbital position for digital satellite services targeting the UK and Eire in advance of the next scheduled satellite launch. ASTRA 1D, with its 18 transponders, will also provide back-up for SES' ASTRA 2A spacecraft already operational at this orbital location.

The temporary re-location of an ASTRA satellite will have no impact on existing analogue or digital traffic at 19.2° East. This is due to SES' comprehensive intersatellite back-up scheme and the built-in flexibility of the ASTRA spacecraft to operate in different frequency bands. SES successfully completed an identical procedure between February and October 1998, when the company temporarily re-located the same ASTRA 1D spacecraft to 28.2° East, ahead of the launch of ASTRA 2A. This enabled private and public UK broadcasters to run tests in advance of the timely launch of their digital services. Currently, already over 1.8 million homes in the UK and Eire receive digital satellite services via ASTRA 28.2° East.

In close cooperation with the customers concerned, SES is currently proceeding with the transfer of traffic from ASTRA 1D to other satellites in the ASTRA system at 19.2° East. This process will be transparent to the millions of ASTRA viewers at this orbital location, as all transmission parameters (frequency, polarization) will remain unchanged. The transfer of ASTRA 1D, using the satellite's on-board thrusters, will have minimal impact on fuel consumption and will take approximately three weeks.

SES will operate ASTRA 1D at 28.2° East until the next ASTRA spacecraft carrying BSS transponders has been successfully launched and put into service. ASTRA 2B is currently scheduled to be launched on-board an Ariane launch vehicle during the second quarter 2000. Furthermore, SES has two additional satellites (ASTRA 2C and ASTRA 2D) under construction for the orbital location of 28.2° East. Both are due for launch before mid-2001.

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