SES-9 Successfully Launched on SpaceX's Falcon 9

World-leading satellite operator SES S.A. announced that its SES-9 satellite was successfully launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. SES-9 roared into space at 6:35 pm East Coast Time on 4 March (00:35 am on 5 March Central European Time) and separated from the second stage of the SpaceX rocket 31 minutes later.

SES-9, SES’s largest satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region, weighed 5.3 tons at the launch and has 57 high-power Ku-band transponders – equivalent to 81x36 MHz transponders’ The satellite will provide significant expansion capacity to serve the buoyant and fast-growing video, enterprise, mobility and government sectors across Northeast Asia, South Asia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. SES-9 will be co-located with another SES satellite, SES-7, at the prime orbital location of 108.2 degrees East, and will replace the NSS-11 spacecraft at that position.

SES-9 uses a chemical bi-propellant thruster to conduct major post-launch manoeuvers, completing its journey to its orbit at 36,000 kilometers above the Equator with an electric propulsion system. The on-orbit maneuvering throughout the 15 year nominal lifetime of the satellite will be done entirely by electric propulsion. SES-9 is planned to commence its services in the third quarter of this year