[SatNews] SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) has announced that the ASTRA 2E satellite entered into commercial service in the orbital arc of 28.2/28.5 degrees East on February 1, 2014.

Artistic rendition of SES' ASTRA-2E satellite.

Image courtesy of Astrium.

The satellite was launched on board an ILS Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 30, 2013. Extensive in-orbit tests have since then confirmed the satellite to be fully operational and performing to specifications. ASTRA 2E has now been deployed at its final destination in the orbital arc of 28.2/28.5 degrees East, where it is co-positioned with ASTRA 2A, ASTRA 2F and ASTRA 1N. Over the coming weeks, BSkyB, Channel4, ITV and BBC programming in this arc will be transitioned to the new satellite with its footprint over the British Isles.

The satellite was built for SES by Astrium of France. Based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, the spacecraft carries 60 Ku-band transponders, including 12 incremental transponders for delivery of services outside Europe, as well as 4 Ka-band transponders. ASTRA 2E enables the delivery of next generation broadcast and broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ASTRA 2E, which  had a launch mass of 6 tonnes, features a wingspan of 40m after its solar arrays have been deployed in orbit, and is designed to generate 13 kW of spacecraft power up to the end of its 15-year design lifetime.

The SES infosite is located at: http://www.ses.com/