Soyuz launches SES 15 from Guiana Space Center. Photo: ESA/Arianespace.

Arianespace announced that it successfully launched the SES 15 satellite onboard a Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. This is SES’ first satellite to launch on a Soyuz rocket for a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) mission.

SES 15 carries a hybrid payload, comprising Ku-band wide beams and Ku-band High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) capability, with connectivity to gateways in Ka-band. The satellite will be located at the orbital position of 129 degrees west and is equipped with 16 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent) as well as HTS capabilities to serve North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

According to SES, SES 15’s high throughput payload will deliver optimized and flexible coverage for global In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) service providers, such as Global Eagle Entertainment, Gogo and Panasonic Avionics. In addition, SES 15 has a dedicated wide beam to enable IFEC providers to deliver live TV content on all flight routes across the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, as well as Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. This combination of beams allows IFEC providers to optimize HTS capacity use for internet traffic and wide beam coverage for broadcast content, according to the company.

The satellite will also enable Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) networks and other traffic-intensive data applications in the government and maritime sectors.

SES 15 also carries a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) hosted payload, which will enable the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to augment the Global Positioning System (GPS) with the goal of improving accuracy, integrity and availability of the system for the aviation industry.

The satellite is equipped with an electric propulsion system for orbit-raising and in-orbit maneuvers.