Today, commercial satellite provider Space Systems/Loral revealed that the SES (News - Alert)-5 satellite was recently launched and is currently performing post-launch maneuvers as scheduled. The satellite, designed and built for satellite operator SES, deployed its solar arrays following its launch aboard a Proton Breeze M vehicle and needs only to move into geosynchronous orbit to fully complete its post-launch processes, which it is scheduled to do later today.

SES-5 is a major, multi-mission satellite that will provide a number of services in four frequency bands to both Europe and Africa. It also was loaded up with an L-band payload for the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).

"We are pleased to see the successful launch of this complex satellite and the beginning of the post-launch maneuvers," said John Celli, President of Space Systems/Loral, in press release. "I'd like to thank everyone at launch base and the teams that saw SES-5 through from design to launch for their hard work and commitment to making this satellite program a success."

SES-5 will be positioned at five degrees East longitude in order to deliver such services as Direct-to-Home (DTH) services, broadband, maritime communications, GSM backhaul and VSAT applications to Europe and Africa. The EGNOS navigation payload, on the other hand, will augment existing satellite positioning services, enabling expanded navigation signals globally, namely for safety critical aviation and maritime applications.

SES-5 boasts 36 active Ku-band transponders and two Ku-band beams, one of which will service customers in the Nordic and Baltic countries while the other will serve Sub-Saharan Africa. It also features two C-band beams — one providing global coverage, the other hemispheric — which can be operated with up to 24 active C-band transponders.

In related news, TMCnet reported that Space Systems/Loral also unveiled its EchoStar XVII satellite, designed and built specifically for Hughes Network Systems (News - Alert). The satellite is designed to offer HughesNet Gen4 high-speed satellite Internet service in North America with more than 100 gigabits per second capacity.

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