SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, announced Tuesday its subsidiary SES ASTRA TechCom has been selected for a project of Europe's global satellite navigation system Galileo. Together with its Luxembourg partner, HITEC Luxembourg, SES ASTRA TechCom has been chosen as lead partner to provide two large telemetry, tracking and control antenna systems which will allow the ground control of the Galileo satellite fleet when it is in orbit.
SES ASTRA TechCom and HITEC Luxembourg will participate in the design, manufacturing, engineering and on-site installation of the antennas as well as the related training of personnel.
The two full motion TT&C antennas with a diameter of 13 meters will be situated at two different geographical locations – one above the polar circle and one close to the equatorial rim. The antennas are expected to be operational in late 2007.
The ASTRA satellite system is the leading direct-to-home satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 107 million DTH and cable households.
The ASTRA satellite fleet currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting in excess of 1,600 analog and digital television and radio channels, as well as multimedia and Internet services.
ASTRA's two prime orbital positions for DTH services are 19.2 degrees east and 28.2 degrees east. Professional services such as Direct-to cable, satellite news-gathering and occasional use are offered from the orbital position of 23.5 degrees east.
SES ASTRA is an SES GLOBAL company. SES GLOBAL wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in the United States and New Skies Satellites in the rest of the world.
The Company also holds strategic participations in AsiaSat in Asia, Star One in Latin America, SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. Americom Government Services provides network solutions and bandwidth to the US government and its contractors. SES GLOBAL provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 43 satellites across the globe.
