SES has selected European manufacturer Thales Alenia Space (TAS), to build two satellites for its American, C-band clearing efforts. These two units will round-off the six satellites that SES has previously said it will need to order to clear its spectrum. These satellites will be known as SES-22 and -23, and will be based on the TAS Spacebus 4000 B2 platform.
Corporate logo of Thales Alenia Space. Courtesy of Thales Alenia Space.
SES has labelled these two satellites as “contingency” units. To be used to assure compliance with the strict incentive payment deadline set-down by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). With this, it is likely that these units will have to be completed quickly. This in order to meet the same launch window of late-2022 targeted for its two other manufacturers (Boeing and Northrop Grumman).
