AMC-16 Satellite Good to Go for December 16 Launch
Second Ku/Ka-band Spacecraft for AMERICOM2Home Customer EchoStar
The AMERICOM-16
(AMC-16) satellite of SES AMERICOM, an SES GLOBAL Company (Euronext
Paris, Luxembourg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges:SESG), has been
delivered to Cape Canaveral to prepare it for its scheduled ATLAS V
launch on December 16, 2004. The A2100AX model spacecraft was built by
Lockheed Martin and is being launched by International Launch Services
(ILS) for service at the 85 degrees West longitude orbital position.
The hybrid Ku-band/Ka-band satellite will support advanced video and
broadband services for EchoStar Communications Corp.
AMC-16 will feature the second operating Ka-band payload in the
SES AMERICOM fleet. Its “twin,” AMC-15, was launched by ILS in October
on a Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and is
currently undergoing in-orbit testing. AMC-16 carries twelve 125 MHz
Ka-band spot beams, along with twenty-four 36 MHz, 140 watt Ku-band
transponders. As the second satellite dedicated to AMERICOM2Home®,
the spacecraft has been optimized to provide both Direct-to-Home video
and broadband services into a single dish. After the launch, SES
AMERICOM will complete the testing of all spacecraft systems and ready
the satellite for service.
Romain Bausch, Chairman of the SES AMERICOM Board, said, “AMC-16
is strategic for AMERICOM in that it will enable the next generation
combination of direct-to-home services to be enjoyed by DISH Network
subscribers. As we expand our pivotal relationship with EchoStar, our
collaboration on the development of advanced video and broadband
solutions is clearly aiming at totally integrated, efficient and
affordable systems.”
The AMC-16 spacecraft was flown to Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, FL, on an Antonov cargo plane that departed Moffett Air Force
Base, California on November 8th. The load was massive, with a
cumulative weight of two tons. Once the spacecraft was unpacked, a
team of AMERICOM, Lockheed Martin and ILS engineers and launch
specialists began a sequence of final preparations leading to the
mid-December launch. These preparations include launch site testing,
spacecraft fueling, integrating the satellite into the fairing, mating
the fairing with the ATLAS V, a final set of tests, and roll-out of
the rocket to the launch pad.
Dozens of SES AMERICOM customers are scheduled to gather at Cape
Canaveral to view the December 16th launch along with SES AMERICOM,
ASTRA and GLOBAL staff, insurers, press and other invited guests, for
what is expected to be a spectacular pre-dawn lift-off. The 115-minute
launch window opens at 4:41 a.m. EST, with broadcast of the launch
beginning about 20 minutes before that. The video will be available
via satellite in C-band via AMC-9 located at 85 degrees West. In
addition, a webcast will be available at www.ilslaunch.com.
About International Launch Services
ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. in the United
States, manufacturer of the Atlas rocket, and Khrunichev State
Research and Production Space Center of Russia, builder of the Proton
rocket. ILS provides launch services on the Atlas and Proton vehicles
to customers worldwide.
About Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems markets, designs and
builds geostationary and non-geostationary telecommunications and
remote sensing satellites for customers worldwide. LMCSS is an
operating unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, one of the
core business areas of the Lockheed Martin Corporation .
Lockheed Martin has a 41-year heritage of building reliable spacecraft
for commercial and military customers, having launched more than 875
spacecraft and clocking over 1500 years of on-orbit performance
experience.
About SES AMERICOM
The largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S., SES
AMERICOM, Inc. is recognized as a pioneer of global satellite
communications services. Established in 1973 with its first satellite
circuit for the U.S. Department of Defense, the company currently
operates a fleet of 16 spacecraft in orbital positions predominantly
providing service throughout the Americas. As a member of the SES
GLOBAL family, SES AMERICOM is able to provide end-to-end
telecommunications solutions to any region in the world. In 2001, the
company established AMERICOM Government Services, a wholly owned
subsidiary dedicated to providing satellite-based communications
solutions to both civilian and defense agencies of the U.S.
government. In 2003, SES AMERICOM formed WORLDSAT, a wholly owned
subsidiary that markets capacity on four satellites covering Asia and
the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean regions, and connecting premier
regional satellite fleets. With its combined operations, SES AMERICOM
serves broadcasters, cable programmers, aeronautical and maritime
communications integrators, Internet service providers, mobile
communications networks, government agencies, educational
institutions, carriers and secure global data networks with efficient
communication and content distribution solutions.
