New Skies’ NSS-7 satellite arrives at Arianespace launch site to be readied for mid-April launch
NSS-7 is The Netherlands’ first communications satellite
The Hague, The Netherlands, March 20, 2002 – New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX,
NYSE: NSK), the global satellite communications company, announced today
that its NSS-7 Atlantic Ocean region satellite has arrived in Kourou, French
Guiana to begin the final preparations for launch from Arianespace’s Guiana
Space Center. NSS-7, New Skies’ first new satellite since the company began
operations in 1998, is scheduled to lift off aboard an Ariane 44L rocket on
April 16.
NSS-7 was delivered from Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems’
manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California to Kourou by an Antonov
An-124 Ruslan, one of the largest cargo transports in the world.
NSS-7 has been designed to replace the NSS-803 and NSS-K satellites at 338.5
degrees East longitude, combining the existing television services on NSS-K
with the substantial Internet and video traffic on NSS-803. From this
orbital location, NSS-7 will offer existing and potential customers more
Ku-band capacity, expanded coverage and increased transmission power. NSS-7
also will enable New Skies to transition NSS-803 to 183 degrees East over
the Pacific Ocean to replace the ageing NSS-513 spacecraft.
"NSS-7 is the first satellite to have been designed exclusively by New Skies
to match our customers’ present and future business plans, while being
extremely competitive with existing capacity in the region," said Steve
Stott, New Skies’ chief technology officer. "In addition, with NSS-803 over
the Pacific Ocean, we will have upgraded our capacity and capabilities in
two distinct regions with one launch."
New Skies will use NSS-7 to deliver a wide range of communications services
throughout Europe, Africa and the Americas. These offerings include video
distribution and contribution, Internet backbone connectivity, corporate
business networking and fixed services such as telephony and data.
The NSS-7 design is based on Lockheed Martin’s A2100AX platform and boasts a
communications payload consisting of nearly 3,500 MHz of capacity. The
bandwidth is spread over 36 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders in 11
high-powered coverage beams, which are focused on key developed and emerging
markets. The extensive switching capability between beams and between
frequency bands offers enhanced connectivity between regions and makes it
possible to tailor capacity to match current Internet and video traffic
patterns in the Atlantic Ocean Region. NSS-7’s high downlink power levels
also will enable the use of smaller, more efficient receive systems for the
delivery of Internet and data services.
New Skies Satellites (AEX, NYSE: NSK) is one of only four fixed satellite
communications companies with truly global satellite coverage, offering
video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of
telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet
service providers around the world. New Skies has five satellites in
geosynchronous orbit and ground facilities around the world. The company
also has three new spacecraft under construction, which are planned to serve
the Atlantic Ocean Region, Asia and the Americas. In line with its growth
strategy, the company has secured certain rights to make use of four
additional orbital positions. New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The
Netherlands, and has offices in London, Johannesburg, New Delhi, São Paulo,
Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C. Additional information is available
at www.newskies.com.
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Additional information is available at http://www.newskies.com, or please
contact:
Jeffrey Bothwell, New Skies Satellites
Tel: +31 70 306 4239 Email: jbothwell@newskies.com
