KOUROU, French Guiana, December 17, 2002 – New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX, NYSE: NSK), the global satellite communications company, today announced that its new NSS-6 pan-Asian satellite was successfully launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana aboard an Ariane 44L rocket.
The launch took place at 8:04 P.M. local Kourou time (6:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time; 12:04 A.M. Central European Time on December 18). The first acquisition of the satellite’s telemetry was at 9:06 P.M. local Kourou time (7:06 P.M. EST; 1:06 A.M. CET). Arianespace, the European commercial launch services provider, performed the launch.
In addition to the successful launch of NSS-6, New Skies also announced that the company’s NSS-5 satellite, previously named NSS-803, has completed its transition from the Atlantic Ocean Region to 183 degrees east longitude over the Pacific Ocean. In its new orbital position, NSS-5 will deliver video, telecom and Internet services throughout the Pacific Rim as well as provide trans-oceanic connectivity to the West Coast of the United States. The satellite has already replaced the older NSS-513 spacecraft and commenced commercial transmissions on Monday, December 16.
“The successful launch of NSS-6 represents the realization of another important milestone in New Skies strategic plan as well as the company’s steadfast commitment to Asia,” said Dan Goldberg, New Skies’ chief executive officer. “NSS-6 is the most state-of-the-art satellite to serve the region, which represents 50 percent of the world’s landmass and more than 60 percent of the world’s population, and will contribute to New Skies’ significant anticipated growth in 2003 and beyond.
“The NSS-6 design incorporates proven technologies and features a high degree of connectivity and flexible capacity allocation among the coverage beams, allowing us to match supply where we see the most demand. With the combined high-power coverage of NSS-6 and NSS-5, we now have the competitive capacity to fulfill the dynamic requirements of our customers and aggressively pursue emerging opportunities throughout Asia.”
NSS-6 is an A2100AX model satellite built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and is equipped with 60 36 MHz-equivalent Ku-band transponders. From the prime orbital slot at 95 degrees east longitude, NSS-6’s six broad Ku-band beams will offer coverage of India, China, the Middle East (including Cyprus and Southern Africa), Australia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.
Additionally, NSS-6 will offer up to 10 uplink spot beams in the Ka-band, fixed on the strategic markets of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing/Tianjin, Wuhan, Taiwan, Seoul, Tokyo/Osaka, Mumbai, Bangalore/Chennai, Delhi, Sydney and Melbourne. These beams allow for super-fast uplink access from Ka-band antennas as small as 75 - 90 centimeters.
NSS-6 highlights:
Designed to serve a wide range of customers, including broadcasters, telecommunications carriers, DTH service providers, ISPs, corporations and other enterprise customers.
Versatile Ku-band and Ka-beams can be easily cross-strapped or interconnected, offering enhanced connectivity throughout Asia with complete access to Europe and the United States through New Skies’ global network.
Higher transmission power enables customers to use smaller antennas (75-90cm) or obtain higher throughput with existing antennas.
Ideally suited for emerging broadband applications.
About New Skies Satellites
New Skies Satellites (AEX, NYSE: NSK) is one of only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage, offering video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet service providers around the world. Including NSS-6, New Skies has six satellites in orbit and ground facilities around the world. The company has one additional spacecraft under construction, which is planned to serve the Americas from a new orbital location. The company also has secured certain rights to make use of additional orbital positions, including four serving the Americas. New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and has offices in Beijing, London, Johannesburg, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C. Additional information is available at: www.newskies.com.
