SES-12 will operate under the authority of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and will replace and augment services already provided by SES NSS-6 satellite, which was launched in 2002.
The launch of SES-12 was on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the US on 4 June. The satellite is one of the largest geostationary satellites that SES has ever launched, and was constructed by Airbus Defence and Space.
SES-12 will reach 18 million TV homes, along with SES-8, providing services for pay-TV operators through its six wide beams and 72 high throughput user spot beams. It takes SES’s fleet in operation to seven geostationary satellites and 16 MEO satellites across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Overall, it has 50 GEO satellites.
Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES, said, “More content. More immersive viewing experience. Blazing internet speeds. Reliable cell coverage. All of these dynamic customer requirements can now be met with the successful launch of SES-12, which will provide incremental high performance capacity and offer greater reliability and flexibility to our customers.”
