SES is pleased to announce that the SES-8 satellite has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral (Florida). The satellite will now be processed for a November launch on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster.

SES-8 has been manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation. The satellite features up to 33 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent).

SES-8 will be co-located with NSS-6 at the orbital location of 95 degrees East to provide growth capacity over Asia-Pacific.

The spacecraft's high performance beams will support the rapidly growing markets in South Asia and Indo-China, as well as provide expansion capacity for DTH, VSAT and government applications. Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES, stated: "SES looks forward to the maiden launch of an SES satellite on board the Falcon 9 rocket operated by SpaceX.

"When co-located with NSS-6 at 95 degrees East, SES-8 will not only provide incremental high performance capacity for multiple applications, it will also create greater reliability and additional security for customers.

"As such, the SES-8 satellite is an integral part of SES' growing presence in Asia-Pacific."