SES SIRIUS, an SES ASTRA company, announced today that its new
SIRIUS 4 satellite has been successfully launched into orbit. SIRIUS 4
roared into space onboard an ILS Proton rocket from Baikonur this
morning at 04.39 local time - 23.39 p.m. Central European Time (CET)
on Saturday. The satellite will now be brought into its final orbital
position within the next weeks, and will be made commercially
available beginning in January 2008, after extensive in-orbit testing.
SES ASTRA is an SES company (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG).
SIRIUS 4 will be located at 5 degrees East, SES SIRIUS´ orbital
position for delivering broadcast and broadband services across
Europe, and will also transmit HDTV channels. With its satellite fleet
SES SIRIUS reaches 20 million homes in Europe. SIRIUS 4 will also
carry an African beam which will be marketed by SES ASTRA.
"We are very proud and satisfied that the SIRIUS 4 mission has
been a success," said Hakan Sjodin, Managing Director of SES SIRIUS.
"SIRIUS 4 will benefit our customers and extend our coverage and
service in Eastern Europe. The success of the SIRIUS 4 mission is a
milestone in our company´s history, and we would like to underline the
very good cooperation with our launch partners, International Launch
Services (ILS) and Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems."
"This was an especially important mission for ILS and our
customer, SES SIRIUS," said ILS President Frank McKenna. "ILS and our
partner, Khrunichev, continue to focus on performance and on our
long-term relationship with the companies of the SES Group."
The pictures of the launch will be available at www.ses-sirius.com
together with the related press release from our partner ILS.
About SES SIRIUS AB www.ses-sirius.com
SES SIRIUS AB owns and operates the SIRIUS satellite system
(SIRIUS 2 and 3). SIRIUS is a leading satellite system in the Nordic
and Baltic countries and Central and Eastern Europe. It offers
cost-effective solutions for TV and radio broadcasts and broadband
services in these regions. The SIRIUS satellites are positioned at 5
degrees East and offer reliable communication links across Europe. SES
SIRIUS AB is 75-percent owned by SES ASTRA, one of the world´s leading
satellite operators, and 25-percent by the state-owned company the
Swedish Space Corporation. SES ASTRA is an SES company.
About ILS www.ilslaunch.com
International Launch Services is a U.S.-Russian joint
venture, between Space Transport Inc. and Khrunichev State Research
and Production Space Center with RSC Energia. ILS has the exclusive
rights for worldwide commercial sales and mission management of
satellite launches on Russia´s premier vehicle, the Proton, and the
future Angara vehicle. ILS is incorporated in Delaware in the United
States, and is headquartered in McLean, Va., a suburb of Washington,
D.C.
About Lockheed Martin www.lockheedmartin.com
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about
135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research,
design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services.