Société Européenne des Satellites
SES S.A. is a Luxembourgish communications satellite operator and a global leader in content and connectivity solutions, owning and operating over 70 satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). They deliver video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments, and institutions. SES's major projects include operating the European Astra TV satellites and the O3b mPOWER data satellites, and they have partnerships with organizations like the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US Army. Associated keywords: satellite communications, GEO, MEO, connectivity, Luxembourg.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Arianespace has launched the full O3b constellation since 2013 using Soyuz rockets that carry four satellites per mission.
Luxembourg-based SES operates the O3b satellites at an altitude of 8,0 m above the Earth.
SES has seven second-generation O3b satellites under construction with Boeing that are collectively designed to provide 10 terabits per second of capacity.
John-Paul Hemingway, SES Networks CEO, argues that low Earth orbit systems will face latency challenges similar to geostationary satellites because closer proximity results in smaller coverage areas requiring multiple hops for long-distance communications.
The O3b satellites operate at about one-quarter the distance of geostationary orbit where most telecom satellites reside.
The proximity of O3b satellites at 8,0 m reduces communication lag time compared with geostationary satellites.
Arianespace will use a Soyuz rocket on 2019-04-04 to launch four O3b satellites for SES, expanding the medium Earth orbit O3b system to 20 satellites.
SES operates 16 O3b broadband satellites in medium Earth orbit and has four more launching on an Arianespace Soyuz 2019-03 plus another seven under construction by Boeing.
Isotropic Systems will perform over-the-air testing with fleet operators Inmarsat and SES 2019.
GeoCarb is slated to fly in 2022 as a hosted payload on an SES Government Solutions communications satellite.
SES is developing the O3b mPOWER system that Boeing is building for a 2021 launch, representing Ka-band competition in the region.
Eutelsat has 37 geostationary satellites and Telesat has 17 geostationary satellites, and the two smaller C-Band Alliance members would use capacity on Intelsat and SES satellites to cover for their lost capacity.
SES acquired O3b in 2016.
Comsys senior consultant Susan Bull identified O3b customers as paying $250,000 for O3b antenna systems in some cases.
SES is working with Alcan Systems, Isotropic Systems, and Viasat to build flat or low-profile electronically steered antennas for its O3b mPower satellite system.
Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, and Telesat formed the C-Band Alliance on 2018-10-01 to facilitate the transfer of C-band spectrum and distribute proceeds from cellular companies for replacement infrastructure and customer migration costs.
SES intends to design many future geostationary satellites with attributes of O3b to appeal to cloud networks.
SES plans to integrate O3b mPower with its geostationary fleet using an intelligent ground network that can manage services across orbits.
SES operates 16 first-generation O3b satellites from Thales Alenia Space in approximately 8,000-kilometer medium Earth orbit.
SES planned a final first-generation Soyuz launch of four O3b satellites in 2019, completing the 16 O3b satellites that launched on Soyuz four at a time.