SES NEW SKIES' NSS-9 satellite has safely arrived at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, onboard an Antonov cargo plane.

The NSS-9 spacecraft, manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), will now be readied for launch onboard an Ariane 5 booster, scheduled for take off on February 12, 2009. The launch window for NSS-9 onboard Ariane 5 opens at 22:09 GMT time. The NSS-9 spacecraft will be positioned at the orbital location of 183 degrees East, carries 44 active C-band transponders and features three beams that can interconnect on a transponder-by-transponder basis: A global beam providing coverage of the entire earth visible from 183 degrees East; a West Hemi beam (covering Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, China, Korea and the Pacific Islands); and an East Hemi beam (providing coverage and connectivity to the U.S., Hawaii and Polynesia). The NSS-9 satellite is specified for a minimum service life of 15 years. Based on Orbital’s Star 2 satellite bus, the spacecraft has a launch mass of 2230 kilograms, a payload power of 2.3 kW, and features command encryption as well as key redundant on-board systems to provide maximum operational security.