SES announced today that the ASTRA 1P satellite was successfully launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, at 5:35 pm local time.
“We are excited that ASTRA 1P will be joining our fleet of geostationary satellites, marking the next generation of satellites to operate at one of our most important orbital positions responsible for delivering content to hundreds of millions of viewers in Europe,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. “Ever since the launch of ASTRA 1A in 1988, our satellites have played a pivotal role in reliably delivering high-quality content to viewers. We are well-positioned to continue supporting our broadcast customers for many years to come with ASTRA 1P.”
The Ku-band satellite will augment and strengthen SES’s prime TV neighborhood at 19.2 degrees East while delivering content for public and private broadcasters, sports organizations and content owners to audiences across largest European TV markets. ASTRA 1P will also ensure the delivery of premium HD content directly to subscribers of HD+, SES’s high-definition satellite TV platform in Germany.
Built by Thales Alenia Space, ASTRA 1P is based on the 100% electric Spacebus NEO platform and features 80 transponders capable of delivering 500 HD TV channels. It is the most powerful satellite to operate at 19.2 degrees East, seamlessly replacing the current four satellites at the orbital location and continuing their mission of serving 119 million TV households.