AMC-14 Satellite Slated for March 15 Launch

Princeton, NJ – The AMERICOM-14 (AMC-14) satellite, of SES AMERICOM, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), was delivered to Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to be readied for its Proton Breeze M launch scheduled for the morning of March 15 local time (evening of March 14 EST). The A2100 spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and is being launched by International Launch Services (ILS) for service at the 61.5 degrees West longitude orbital position.

AMC-14 is an advanced, high-powered Ku-band BSS satellite, designed for multiple missions to operate across the orbital arc from 61 to 119 degrees West. As the third satellite dedicated to AMERICOM2Home, the spacecraft has been optimized to provide Direct-to-Home video services. After the launch, SES AMERICOM will complete the testing of all spacecraft systems and ready the satellite for continental U.S. service from 61.5 degrees West by EchoStar Corporation (EchoStar).

The AMC-14 satellite provides 8.2 kilowatts of power to the communications payload, which consists of thirty-two 24 MHz Ku-band transponders. In addition, the spacecraft carries a demonstration phased array antenna that enables coverage shaping while the satellite is in orbit. The mission is not dependent upon the experimental array; nonetheless, it gives both AMERICOM and EchoStar an opportunity to test this next generation technology. The designated mission of AMC-14 is to expand the bandwidth resources needed to increase the number of high definition and other services offered by EchoStar nationwide.

“We are pleased that AMC-14 has been safely delivered to Baikonur; the SES AMERICOM, Lockheed Martin and ILS teams will execute their combined launch mission preparations so that AMC-14 is ready for launch in about four weeks,” said Ed Horowitz, President and CEO of SES AMERICOM. He continued, “We have entrusted this important spacecraft to ILS for an on-time and on-target launch in mid-March; our customer; EchoStar, is waiting to use this payload to expand their services to customers across the nation.”

The AMC-14 spacecraft, along with an assemblage of testing equipment and systems, made up a massive shipment of 18 huge containers with a cumulative weight of 83,533 Kgs. The load was flown to Yubileny Airport at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on an Antonov cargo plane that departed Moffett Air Force Base, California on February 12 and arrived in Kazakhstan on February 15. The spacecraft was unpacked on Saturday February 16, and a team of SES AMERICOM, Lockheed Martin and ILS engineers and launch specialists began a rigorous sequence of final preparations leading to the mid-March launch. These preparations include: spacecraft fueling, integration of the satellite with the Breeze M upper stage, encapsulation of the unit into the launch vehicle fairing, mating of the fairing with the Proton vehicle, roll-out and erecting of the rocket on the launch pad, and a final set of readiness tests.
SES AMERICOM is an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG). SES wholly owns three market-leading satellite operators, SES ASTRA in Europe, SES AMERICOM in North America, and SES NEW SKIES, which provide global coverage and connectivity. The company also holds strategic participations in SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite communications solutions via a fleet of 38 satellites in 25 orbital positions around the globe. Additional information on SES is available at: www.ses.com