SES Americom

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SES AMERICOM
Company type Private company
Industry Communications
Founded1975;49 years ago (1975) (as RCA Americom)
Defunct2009;15 years ago (2009)
FateMerged
Successor SES World Skies
Headquarters Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Area served
North America
Products Satellite services
Revenue€261.7 million (Q1-Q3 2008) [1]
€63.2 million (Q1-Q3 2008)
Number of employees
414 (2007)
Parent SES

SES Americom was a major commercial satellite operator of North American geosynchronous satellites based in the United States. The company started as RCA Americom in 1975 before being bought by General Electric in 1986 and then later acquired by SES in 2001. In September 2009, SES Americom and SES New Skies merged into SES World Skies. [2]

Contents

History

RCA American Communications (RCA Americom) was founded in 1975 as an operator of RCA Astro Electronics-built satellites. The company's first satellite; Satcom 1, was launched on 12 December 1975. Satcom 1 was one of the earliest geostationary satellites.

Satcom 1 was instrumental in helping early cable TV channels (such as Superstation TBS and CBN) to become initially successful, because these channels distributed their programming to all of the local cable TV headends using the satellite. Additionally, it was the first satellite used by broadcast TV networks in the United States, like American Broadcasting Company (ABC), NBC, and CBS, to distribute their programming to all of their local affiliate stations. Satcom 1 was so widely used because it had twice the communications capacity of the competing Westar 1 (24 transponders as opposed to Westar 1's 12), which resulted in lower transponder usage costs. 14 more (increasingly sophisticated) Satcom satellites would enter service from 1976 to 1992.

In 1986, General Electric acquired RCA and renamed the Americom unit to GE American Communications (GE Americom). From 1996 new satellites were named in the GE-# series, i.e. GE-1 in 1996, GE-2 in 1997 etc.

SES purchase

In November 2001, GE sold its GE Americom unit to SES for US$5 billion in cash and stock. As a result of the sale, GE Americom was renamed SES Americom and SES Global was formed as the parent company. SES's existing operations were moved to the newly created SES Astra subsidiary. [3] [4] SES formerly bought a satellite from failed Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) company Crimson Satellite Associates and GE Americom while still under construction by GE AstroSpace (as Satcom K3). [5] Renamed Astra 1B and modified for use as a European direct broadcasting satellite and a part of the Astra DBS constellation, it was launched to add extra capacity to the satellite television services from 19.2° East, serving Germany, the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

After the acquisition of GE Americom by SES, all the satellites previously named with the GE-# prefix were renamed AMC-# (i.e., GE-1 renamed AMC-1, and so on). [6]

The President and CEO of the new SES Americom was Dean Olmstead. [7] He left the company in 2004 and was succeeded by Edward Horowitz. SES Americom was subsequently placed under Robert Bednarek, the President and CEO of SES New Skies. [8]

In September 2009, SES Americom and SES New Skies were re-branded SES World Skies. [9]

Satellite fleet

Before being merged into SES World Skies in 2009 (which expanded coverage to Middle East and Africa), SES Americom operated the following North American satellites in geosynchronous orbit: [10]

SatellitePositionManufacturerModelLaunchedLaunch vehicleComments
AMC-1 131° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 8 September 1996 Atlas IIA [ citation needed ]
AMC-2 101° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 30 January 1997 Ariane 44L Replaced by SES-1 [11]
AMC-3 87° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 4 September 1997 Atlas IIAS [ citation needed ]
AMC-4 101° West Lockheed Martin A2100AX 13 November 1999 Ariane 44LP Launched in 1999 as GE-4. Replaced by SES-1 [11]
AMC-5 79° West Alcatel Space Spacebus 2000 28 October 1998 Ariane 44L [ citation needed ]
AMC-6 72° West Lockheed Martin A2100AX 22 October 2000 Proton-K / DM-2 [ citation needed ]
AMC-7 137° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 14 September 2000 Ariane 5G Launched in 2000 as GE-7. Backup to AMC-10 since 2015
AMC-8 139° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 19 December 2000 Ariane 5G Launched in 2000 as GE-8
AMC-9 83° West Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 3000B3 7 June 2003 Proton-K / Briz-M [12] Failed in June 2017, apparently broke apart [13]
AMC-10 135° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 5 February 2004 Atlas IIAS [14]
AMC-11 131° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 19 May 2004 Atlas IIAS [15]
AMC-12 37° West Alcatel Alenia Space Spacebus 4000C3 3 February 2005 Proton-M / Briz-M [16] Renamed NSS-10 [17]
AMC-14 [18] 61.5° West (planned) Lockheed Martin A2100 14 March 2008 Proton-M / Briz-M Launch failure [19]
AMC-15 105° West Lockheed Martin A2100AX 15 October 2004 Proton-M / Briz-M [20]
AMC-16 85° West Lockheed Martin A2100AX 17 December 2004 Atlas V (521) [21]
AMC-18 139° West Lockheed Martin A2100A 8 December 2006 Ariane 5 ECA Replaced AMC-2 previously at 105° West
Satcom C3 79° West GE AstroSpace GE-3000 10 September 1992 Ariane 44LP Graveyard orbit
AMC-21 125° West Thales Alenia Space / Orbital Sciences Corporation STAR-2 14 August 2008 Ariane 5 ECA [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astra (satellite)</span>

Astra is the brand name for a number of geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES, a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is also used to describe the pan-European broadcasting system provided by these satellites, the channels carried on them, and even the reception equipment.

SES World Skies was a short lived company formed as a result of the merger between the two SES subsidiaries, SES Americom and SES New Skies. The company was merged into its parent company, SES in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SES (company)</span> Communications satellite owner and operator

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satcom (satellite)</span> Family of communications satellites

Satcom, a portmanteau of satellite communications, was a brand of artificial geo-stationary communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications that facilitated wide-area telecommunications by receiving radio signals from Earth, amplifying them, and relaying them back down to terrestrial receivers.

Astra 1B was the second of the Astra communications satellites launched and operated by SES to add extra capacity to the satellite television services from 19.2° East, serving Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5.0° East in geostationary orbit (GEO) by NSAB. They carried digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, Eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV packages for Eastern Europe, the TopTV package for Africa, a number of Ukrainian channels and the national Latvian and Lithuanian channel service free-to-air.

AMC-6, formerly GE-6, is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES Launched on 21 October 2000, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, AMC-6 became the fifth hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite in the GE Americom fleet. The satellite provides coverage to the continental United States, Canada, the Caribbean islands, southern Greenland, and Latin America. Located in a geostationary orbit parallel to the eastern United States coastline, AMC-6 provides service to commercial and government customers, and is used as an Internet platform due to its wide coverage, scale and redundancy. Some of its capabilities include Very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) networking, satellite news gathering and Ku-band transceiver service. Launched as GE-6, it was renamed AMC-6 when SES took over GE Americom in 2001, forming SES Americom. This merged with SES New Skies in 2009 to form SES World Skies.

AMC-4 is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES. Launched in 1999, from Centre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-2 by Ariane 44LP H10-3. It provides coverage to North America, Latin America, Caribbean. Located in a geostationary orbit, AMC-4 provides service to commercial and government customers, with programming distribution, satellite news gathering and broadcast internet capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ELA-3</span> Launch pad at Kourou Space Centre, French Guiana

ELA-3, is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. ELA-3 was operated by Arianespace as part of the expendable launch system for Ariane 5 launch vehicles. As of July 2023, 117 launches have been carried out from it, the first of which occurred on 4 June 1996. The final launch occurred on 5 July 2023.

AMC-14 is a communications satellite. Initially owned by SES Americom, AMC-14 was designed to be placed in geostationary orbit, following launch on a Proton-M / Briz-M space vehicle. Built by Lockheed Martin and based on the A2100 satellite bus, AMC-14 was to have been located at 61.5° West longitude for Dish Network service.

AMC-21, or GE-21, is an American communications satellite operated by SES S.A., formerly SES World Skies and SES Americom. It was launched in August 2008 and is expected to remain in service for approximately 15 years. It is currently located at 125° West longitude.

Astra 5A was one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES at the Astra 31.5°E. Launched in 1997 to the 5° East position by NSAB as Sirius 2, operation of the satellite was transferred to SES in April 2008 and the craft renamed and moved to 31.5° East to open up a new orbital position for the company for the development of markets in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMC-8</span>

AMC-8, also known as Aurora III, previously GE-8, is a C-band satellite located at 139° West, covering the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. It is owned and operated by SES World Skies, formerly SES Americom and before that GE Americom. The satellite provides critical telecommunications services to AT&T Alascom, which occupies most of the satellite's capacity. AMC-8 was launched in 2000 as GE-8, and replaced Satcom-C5 in March 2001.

SES-1 is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES World Skies, then by SES

AMC-9 is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES World Skies, part of SES S.A. Launched on 6 June 2003, from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on the 300th launch of a Proton family rocket, AMC-9 is a hybrid C-band / Ku-band satellite located at 83° West, covering Canada, United States, Mexico, and Caribbean. It is owned and operated by SES S.A., formerly SES Americom.

Intelsat K was a geostationary communication satellite built by Lockheed Martin. It was located at orbital position of 21.5 degrees west longitude and was owned by SES World Skies. The satellite was based on the AS-5000 platform and its life expectancy was 10 years. It was retired from service in August 2002 and transferred to a graveyard orbit.

AMC-12 is an American geostationary communications satellite that was launched by a Proton-M / Briz-M launch vehicle at 02:27:32 UTC on 3 February 2005. The 4,979 kg (10,977 lb) satellite to provide voice and video services to the North America and South America, Europe, and Africa through separate beams to each region, after parking over the Atlantic Ocean through its 72 C-band transponders, over 37° West longitude.

References

  1. "SES Reports Continued Strong Results" (PDF). SES S.A. 27 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2016.
  2. "SES re-brands international divisions". Rapidtvnews.com. 7 September 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  3. "Satellite Unit Of GE Capital Is Being Sold". The New York Times. 12 November 2001.
  4. "SES Global completes acquisition of GE Americom". Telecompaper. 12 November 2001.
  5. Astra 1B JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library Accessed June 27, 2017
  6. "GE 7, 8 / AMC 7, 8, 10, 11, 18 (Aurora 3)". Gunter's space page. 21 July 2015.
  7. "Dean Olmstead appointed President and CEO of SES AMERICOM" (Press release). SES WORLD SKIES. 12 November 2001.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. "SES To Create New Segment Encompassing Two Of Its Satellite Operating Entities" (Press release). SES S.A. 10 July 2008.
  9. "SES AMERICOM - NEW SKIES Satellite Division Re-brands As SES WORLD SKIES" (Press release). SES WORLD SKIES. 7 September 2009.
  10. "Satellite Fleet". SES AMERICOM. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010.
  11. 1 2 "SES WORLD SKIES Announces Fleet Rebrand" (Press release). SES World Skies. 22 January 2010.
  12. "300th Mission Flown by Proton Vehicle" (Press release). International Launch Services. 7 June 2003. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010.
  13. Berger, Eric (2 July 2017). "A large satellite appears to be falling apart in geostationary orbit". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  14. "ILS Successfully Orbits AMC-10 Satellite" (Press release). International Launch Services. 5 February 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010.
  15. "ILS Successfully Launches AMC-11 Satellite; Celebrates 5 Missions in 5 Months" (Press release). International Launch Services. 19 May 2004. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010.
  16. "Double Success: ILS Launches Payloads with Atlas and Proton on Same Day" (Press release). International Launch Services. 3 February 2005. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010.
  17. "NSS-10 and NSS-11 join SES NEW SKIES fleet" (Press release). SES NEW SKIES. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. "AMC-14 Satellite Slated for March 15 Launch" (Press release). SES AMERICOM. 20 February 2008.
  19. "ILS declares Proton launch anomaly" (Press release). International Launch Services. 14 March 2008. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008.
  20. "ILS Proton Launches AMC-15 Satellite; 9th Mission in 9 Months" (Press release). International Launch Services. 15 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010.
  21. "ILS Launches AMC-16; Wraps Up Year With 10 Mission Successes" (Press release). International Launch Services. 17 December 2004. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010.
  22. "Another successful Arianespace launch: Superbird-7 and AMC-21 in orbit" (Press release). Arianespace. 14 August 2008.