SES S.A. (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) today announced that SES
AMERICOM, its North American subsidiary, has declared to insurers that
its recently launched satellite - AMC-14 - is now considered a total
loss, due to a lack of viable options to reposition the satellite to
its proper geostationary orbit.
"SES and Lockheed Martin have carefully examined all the available
options for repositioning this satellite into its intended
geostationary orbit," said Edward Horowitz, President and CEO of SES
AMERICOM. "Unfortunately, none of those options would allow effective
use of the spacecraft. The various repositioning scenarios presented
carry unacceptable risks, and would result in a severely shortened
life of the satellite. Therefore, we have no choice but to claim a
total loss of the satellite with our insurers."
AMC-14 was built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, and
launched on a Proton/Breeze M rocket provided by ILS (International
Launch Services) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The launch of AMC-14 failed on March 15 when an anomaly during the
second burn of the fourth stage of the rocket resulted in the
satellite being placed short of the planned geostationary transfer
orbit. While an initial assessment of the available options to
reposition the satellite appeared encouraging, more detailed
examinations by SES and Lockheed Martin engineers determined that the
various scenarios could not provide a reasonable chance of success.
Mark Rigolle, Chief Financial Officer of SES commented: "The loss
of any satellite is a disappointment, and the failure of AMC-14 means
there will be no revenues to come from this programme. However, SES is
fully insured for its investment, and there will be no negative P&L
impact from the accelerated writedown of AMC-14. We expect to receive
the insurance proceeds of approximately USD 150 million in the next
few months, thereby enhancing our cash position. The rest of our
business in North America and worldwide has no connection with, and is
unaffected by, this launch failure."
While AMC-14 is currently in a stable orbit, SES is exploring
plans to retire the satellite.
About SES
SES (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) wholly owns three market-leading
satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North
America and SES NEW SKIES, which provides global coverage and
connectivity. The Company also holds 90% of SES SIRIUS in Europe as
well as strategic participations in Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in
Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions
via a fleet of 38 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe.
Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com
