In July 2008 SES ASTRA, placed an order with satellite manufacturer Astrium (Airbus Defense & Space), for the construction of a new satellite, Astra 1N. The spacecraft was scheduled for launch in 2011 and would be positioned at Astra’s prime orbital position 19.2° East.

Astra 1N will mainly serve the German, French and Spanish markets and provide customers with continuous operating and back-up satellite capacity at this key location. The satellite will have 55 transponders with pan-European coverage, and will operate in the Ku frequency band. Its expected lifetime is 15 years.

Astra 1N was built on the Astrium’s Eurostar-3000 platform, the latest version of Astrium’s Eurostar- series which has proven to be highly reliable in commercial service.

Astra 1N was launched in a dual launch with co-passenger BSAT-3c/JCSAT-110R for satellite operators B-Sat and Sky Perfect JSAT from Japan, on August 6^th, 2011, on an Ariane 5 rocket operated by launch operator Arianespace from the Kourou Space Port in French Guiana.