SES S.A. has selected Airbus Defence and Space (formerly known as Astrium) to build its latest communications satellite, SES-10. The satellite will significantly grow SES's capacity to serve the thriving markets of Latin America. Financial details are not being disclosed.

The new satellite - ordered through SES's wholly-owned subsidiary SES Satellite Leasing - will expand SES's capabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean through high power beams tailored to provide direct-to-home broadcasting, enterprise and broadband connectivity services in the entire region.

SES-10's comprehensive coverage includes Mexico, Central America and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The satellite will be positioned at the 67 degrees West orbital position, pursuant to an agreement between the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and SES, which provides for use of the Andean Community's Simon Bolivar 2 satellite network.

The specifically designed beam of SES-10 over the Andean Community Member States, combined with its optimum elevation angle, represents a unique proposition for telecommunications operators, broadcasters and service providers for the Andean countries.

SES-10 is slated for launch on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. With 50 high-power Ku-band transponders, the satellite will provide replacement capacity for the current satellites, AMC-3 and AMC-4, as well as incremental capacity at the 67 degrees West slot. SES has been providing key services to customers in the region from this orbital slot since 2010.

SES-10 will be built by Airbus Defence and Space based on its highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite is designed to operate for 15 years in geosynchronous orbit, utilizing an electric plasma propulsion system for on-orbit manoeuvres and a chemical system for initial orbit raising and some on-orbit manoeuvres.

SES-10 will have an electrical power of 13kW and its launch mass on Falcon 9 is expected to be about 5,300 kilograms. The satellite will also fly Flexible Command Receivers, whose frequency agility provides for more robust satellite command link operations.

SES-10 is the 10th spacecraft that SES has ordered from Airbus Defence and Space.

States Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES: "We are pleased to work once again with our longstanding supplier Airbus Defence and Space on the SES-10 mission. SES-10 will provide our customers in Latin America with new, high power satellite capacity for multiple applications at an established orbital slot.

"We are delighted to broaden our partnership with the Andean Community with a satellite built specifically for use in the Simon Bolivar 2 satellite network, offering opportunities for expanded commercial, economic and social benefits for the Andean region."

"This new contract is a significant win for Airbus Defence and Space and further reinforces our long-standing relationship with SES, which has today asked us to build their 10th Eurostar satellite," said Francois Auque, Head of Space Systems.

"This order also demonstrates our customers' faith in our electrical propulsion technology for station-keeping, a technology that we are among the few in the world to be able to demonstrate in orbit, something we have now been doing for 10 years."