Falcon 9-launched SES-10 now fully operational

Satellite operator SES’s SES-10 satellite is now fully operational at the 67° West position, serving markets in the Latin American region.

The satellite was the first geostationary craft to be launched on a re-usable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on March 30 and has since been undergoing in-orbit tests.

The satellite is the first SES satellite dedicated to providing service to Latin America and has a Ku-band payload of 55 36MHz transponder equivalents. Ten high-power beams will add to SES’s existing capacity for the region, providing DTH broadcasting, enterprise and mobility services to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Through an agreement with the Andean Community nations – Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – which hold the rights to spectrum at 67° West the satellite will operate as Simón Bolivar 2, providing capacity for each member state.