Called SES-17, the satellite will use an architecture based on Thales Alenia Space’s all-electric version of the Spacebus NEO platform. Weighing more than six metric tons at launch and offering payload power in excess of 15 kW, it promises a design life of 15 years. Operating in geostationary orbit in the Ka frequency band, it will thereby complement SES’s portfolio of wide- and spot-beam capacity in different frequency bands (Ku and Ka) and orbits (geostationary, GEO, and medium earth orbit, MEO).
… SES-17 will cover North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean. According to Thales, the network will offer “substantial gains” over today’s broadband connections.