SES S.A. and Boeing announced today that SES has selected Boeing to build a new communication satellite, SES-9, to serve the fast growing markets in Asia.

The new satellite - ordered through SES' affiliate company SES Satellite Leasing Ltd - will expand SES' capabilities to provide direct-to-home broadcasting and other communications services in Northeast Asia, South Asia and Indonesia, as well as maritime communications for vessels in the Indian Ocean.

The spacecraft will be positioned at the orbital slot of 108.2 degrees East and provide incremental as well as replacement capacity to this well established SES slot over Asia, where it will be co-located with the existing SES-7 and NSS-11 satellites.

SES-9 will be built in Boeing's El Segundo Satellite Development Center based on the Boeing 702HP platform. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years in geosynchronous orbit with a 12.7-kilowatt payload and 57 high-power Ku-band transponders (equivalent to 81 x 36 MHz transponders). The spacecraft will carry a xenon ion propulsion system (XIPS) for all on-orbit maneuvering and a chemical bi-propellant system for initial orbit raising.

Boeing has a 25-year relationship with SES. SES-9 is the 11th spacecraft that SES has ordered from Boeing and the contract includes an option for an additional satellite. Financial details are not being disclosed.

States Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES: "We look forward to work again with Boeing on an important addition to our global fleet: SES-9 will greatly expand our transmission capacity over Asia, while adding increased flexibility and redundancy to a strategic orbital slot. SES is convinced that Boeing's 702HP will prove to be mission-critical in order to provide state-of-the-art, high-power satellite capacity to the thriving markets of Asia."

"We are pleased to be selected by SES to build a highly flexible 702HP satellite, which has a uniquely configured XIPS propulsion system and chemical bi-propellant system, reducing the spacecraft's launch weight while allowing for maximum payload capacity," said Craig Cooning, Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Satellite Systems International and Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.

"Boeing has continuously evolved the 702 design since it was introduced over 15 years ago, allowing us to provide SES a satellite that will be consistent with their business requirements."