Rob Bednarek, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, stated: “NSS-9 ensures seamless continuity for our valued customers at the important orbital position of 183 degrees East. It is also an important milestone as the first NSS satellite commissioned and brought into service since NEW SKIES joined the SES group. As such, it is an integral part of our ambitious launch manifest aimed at increasing the in-orbit capacity of our 25 satellite strong SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES fleet by some 200 transponders on four additional spacecraft over the next two years. The successful addition of NSS-9 frees up the NSS-5 satellite for new missions and new markets.”
NSS-9 carries 44 active C-band 36 MHz equivalent 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 continental U.S., Hawaii and Polynesia). NSS-9 is specified for a minimum service life of 15 years. Based on Orbital’s Star 2 satellite bus, the spacecraft had a launch mass of 2230 kilograms, offers a payload power of 2.3 kW, and features command encryption as well as key redundant on-board systems to provide maximum operational security. The spacecraft was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation [NYSE: ORB] and launched into space on-board an Ariane 5 booster on February 12, 2009.