Artistic impression of the SES-4 satellite.

....SES (EURONEXT PARIS: SESG) (LUXEM: SESG), is successfully performing post-launch maneuvers. The satellite deployed its solar arrays yesterday following its launch on Tuesday aboard a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle, provided by International Launch Services (ILS), from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. The satellite's main thrusters are maneuvering SES-4 into its geosynchronous orbit.

"As the most powerful satellite in the SES fleet, SES-4 will provide new, state-of-the-art satellite capacity across three continents," said Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES. "This is our second SS/L-built satellite to launch in the last six months, and we continue to work closely with SS/L on another important addition to our fleet, which is scheduled to launch later this year."

SES-4 is a C- and Ku-band satellite designed to provide Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) to the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. With approximately 20-kW end-of-life power, it is based on the decades-proven SS/L 1300 platform, which has the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. When the satellite completes in-orbit testing, it will replace NSS-7 at 338 degrees East longitude. SES-4 is SS/L's seventh 20-kilowatt satellite to be placed into orbit. It has more transponders than any other satellite in the SES fleet with 52 C-band and 72 Ku-band transponders. With this launch, there are 67 SS/L-built 1300 platform satellites currently in orbit.