Astra 1P/SES-24 at 19° East
Position: | 19° East |
Manufacturer: | Thales Alenia Space |
Operator: | SES |
Launch operator: | SpaceX |
Launch vehicle: | Falcon 9 |
Launch date: | 06/19/2024 |
Expected lifetime: | 15+ Years |
Astra 1P/SES-24 at 19° East is a geostationary communications satellite owned and operated by satellite operator SES from Luxembourg. The satellite was ordered in 2021 and built by Thales Alenia Space and will provide distribution of direct-to-home broadcast services across Europe.
Thales Alenia Space announced in November 2021 that it had signed a contract with SES to deliver two Ku-band geostationary satellites, Astra 1P/SES-24 and Astra 1Q/SES-25 to serve SES’s major European broadcasters’ content distribution operations as well as deliver connectivity services over Europe at SES’ prime orbital slot at 19.2° East. The satellite will join and/or replace the Astra 1KR, Astra 1L, Astra 1M, and Astra 1N satellites currently stationed there and begin service early in 2025.
Astra 1P/SES-24 at 19° East is a classic wide-beam satellite, supporting SES’s prime TV neighborhood and enable content owners, private and public broadcasters across Germany, France and Spain to continue broadcasting satellite TV channels in the highest-picture quality in the most cost-efficient manner. It will be based on Thales’ full electric and powerful Spacebus-Neo-200 platform.
The satellite was launched on June 19th, 2024 from the SLC-40 launch complex at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida, USA, using a Falcon 9 launcher operated by SpaceX. Astra 1P was the first Astra satellite launched by SpaceX.