ASTRA 1D OPERATIONAL AT 24.2° EAST

SES provides follow-on capacity to DFS 1 Kopernikus

Société Européenne des Satellites S.A. (SES) has activated its ASTRA 1D satellite at the orbital position of 24.2° East. At this new orbital location, the spacecraft is providing follow-on capacity for Deutsche Telekom's DFS 1 Kopernikus satellite at 23.5° East according to an agreement with Deutsche Telekom AG. ASTRA 1D is carrying cable feeds of TV and radio channels for the German market.

ASTRA 1D has been activated at 24.2° East in advance of the planned launch of ASTRA 3A onboard an Ariane booster scheduled for the second quarter 2002. The ASTRA 3A satellite will be permanently positioned at 23.5° East as the successor to DFS 1 Kopernikus.

The temporary activation of ASTRA 1D at 24.2° East as follow-on for DFS 1 Kopernikus once again demonstrates the unmatched flexibility of the ASTRA satellite system with its comprehensive inter-satellite back-up scheme. Within this framework, the activation of ASTRA 1D at a third orbital slot has no impact on the back-up scheme's integrity nor on existing programming at the SES positions of 19.2° East nor 28.2° East.

ASTRA 3A will be a Boeing 376 spin-stabilized satellite carrying 20 active high-power Ku-band transponders (21 at beginning of life) with a bandwidth of 36 MHz in the DFS Kopernikus frequency range 11.45 - 11.70 and 12.50 - 12.75 GHz. The spacecraft will have a minimum design life of 10 years in orbit and feature an optimized footprint for DTH reception (direct-to-home) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

For further information please contact:

Yves Feltes Press Relations Manager SES/ASTRA Tel. (352) 710 725 311 Yves_Feltes@ses-astra.com

About SES Group:

The SES Group operates a satellite services network providing seamless broadband communications spanning four continents. Based in Luxembourg, Société Européenne des Satellites S.A. (Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SES; Frankfurt Exchange: SDSL) is the operator of ASTRA, Europe's leading direct-to-home Satellite System, and a strategic shareholder in premier satellite operations like AsiaSat (34.10%), NSAB in Scandinavia (50%), and Star One in Latin America (19.99%).

On March 28th, 2001, SES announced the acquisition of 100% of US operator GE Americom in a $ 5 bn transaction still subject to regulatory approval. To that effect, SES has created SES Global S.A. which will hold all SES Group participations.

SES Global will become the world's premier broadband satellite services provider with a combined fleet of 29 wholly-owned spacecraft: 12 ASTRA and 17 Americom satellites as well as 13 additional satellites through partnerships and investments (3 AsiaSat, 3 SIRIUS, 5 Brasilsat and 2 other through Americom's interests in Latin America and Asia). The SES Global fleet will provide seamless global connectivity.

Americom operates 13 communications satellites over North America as well as 4 transoceanic spacecraft and reaches approximately 115 million viewers through an array of high-quality customers. NSAB operates the SIRIUS satellites providing audiovisual and multimedia services to more than 5 million homes in the Northern and Eastern European countries. AsiaSat is the leading satellite system in the Asian/Pacific region reaching over 80 million households with more than 300 million viewers. Star One operates Brasilsat, the largest satellite fleet over Latin America, whose broadcasts are received by more than 7 million households in Brazil.

SES' core business builds on ASTRA, Europe's leading direct-to-home satellite system. ASTRA transmits in analogue and digital format over 1000 television and radio channels as well as multimedia and Internet services to an audience of more than 87 million homes in Europe. Two additional ASTRA satellites are currently under construction and due for launch before mid 2002.

SES Multimedia operates the ASTRA-NET platform, enabling service and content providers to transmit data directly, via satellite, to personal computers in businesses and homes. SES is also the first European satellite operator to commercially exploit the Ka-band frequencies for its ASTRA Broadband Interactive System, a DVB-RCS based return channel system for interactive satellite applications. In addition, SES is extending its direct involvement in multimedia with partnerships, joint ventures and direct investment.

In the year ended December 2000, SES Group had revenues of EURO 835.9mn, EBITDA of EURO 708.7mn and operating income of EURO 516.6mn with an EBITDA margin of 84.8% and 426 employees (including AsiaSat). Its contracted backlog amounts to EURO 4.6bn.

For additional information about SES Group, its partners and GE Americom, visit: www.ses-astra.com, www.nsab.se, www.asiasat.com, www.starone.com.br and www.geamericom.com.