Astra 1P (also known as SES-24) is an

Astra Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

, built by

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France. It provides space-based ...

for owner/operator SES. Launched by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

on 20 June 2024, the satellite is positioned in

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

, in SES's primary European broadcasting slot at 19.2° East, to provide broadcast TV to Europe and is the most powerful satellite at that position.''Watch this space: SES set to launch most powerful satellite to orbit at 19.2E''
SVG Europe. 12 February 2024. Accessed 29 March 2024

Satellite description

Designed and built by

, Astra 1P is a classic wide-beam broadcasting satellite based on the all-electric Spacebus NEO-200

satellite bus A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held. Bus-derived satellites are less customized than specially-produced satelli ...

. The satellite has 80 physical

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally ), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K band ...

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

with bandwidth filters, capable of broadcasting up to 500 HDTV channels. It has a dry mass of 3,780kg (5,000kg at launch, fueled) and two solar array 'wings', each of six panels providing 25kW.

Broadcasting reach

Astra 1P is a third generation satellite at SES's original orbital position of 19.2° East to provide continued

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

and pay-TV

direct-to-home Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

broadcasting services to all of Europe, with an identical coverage and frequency plan to the second generation of satellites at this orbital position that were reaching the end of their operational life at the time of its launch.In particular, the satellite serves private and public broadcasters in the following regions of Europe: *German-speaking: SES delivers content to 42 million TV households in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via satellite, cable, and IPTV. Broadcasters include High View,

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...

ProSiebenSat.1 ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media and digital company based in Unterföhring near Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Venture ...

QVC Germany QVC Germany is a branch of QVC, a multinational corporation specialising in televised home shopping, originally founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It expanded into Germany in 1996. QVC broadcasts in four major countries ...

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

, and the HD+ high-definition satellite TV platform. *France: satellites at 19.2° East serve 17.5 million homes with major TV platforms including

CANAL+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

. *Spain:

Astra 19.2° East Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

provides 7.5 million TV households with free-to-air (FTA) international TV channels and Telefonica's

Movistar Plus+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by , which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL as well as with satellites such as Astra. The pl ...

TV platform. In addition, Astra 19.2° East is the home of the ASTRA 1 Sports satellite distribution platform delivering sports coverage, major events and significant breaking news to millions of TV households in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

History

In November 2021, SES ordered two replacement satellites from

, a joint venture between

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

(67%) and Leonardo (33%). Astra 1P and Astra 1Q were to be launched in 2024 to the 19.2°E orbital slot to take over from the

Astra 1KR Astra 1KR is one of the Astra geostationary satellites owned and operated by SES, was purchased in June 2003. It was launched on 20 April 2006, 20:27:00 UTC as a replacement for Astra 1K, which failed to reach orbit on launch in November 2002. ...

Astra 1L Astra 1L, is one of the Astra geostationary satellites owned and operated by SES. It was purchased in June 2003, launched in May 2007 and stationed at SES's primary European TV orbital position at 19.2° East. Starting in February 2025, fo ...

Astra 1M Astra 1M is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 19.2° East, from where it is used to provide direct to home (DTH) broadcasting to Europe, Africa, and the ...

, and

Astra 1N Astra 1N is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES and is positioned at the Astra 19.2°E orbital position. It was launched in 2011 and is the fourth satellite to be built for Astra by Astrium (now Airbus Defen ...

satellites positioned there (all launched 10–15 years previously, with the older two at the end of their planned life). The new satellites would provide provide

broadcast TV to Europe (especially Germany, France and Spain) and high-throughput data traffic well into the 2040s.''THALES ALENIA SPACE TO BUILD STATE-OF-THE-ART ASTRA 1P AND ASTRA 1Q SATELLITES FOR SES''
Thales. 18 November 2021. Accessed 29 April 2025 In May 2024, the completed satellite produced at the

Cannes Mandelieu Space Center The Cannes Mandelieu Space Center is an industrial plant dedicated to spacecraft manufacturing, located in both the towns of Cannes and Mandelieu in France. After a long history in aircraft manufacturing, starting in 1929, the center became incr ...

in France, arrived in Florida for launch from

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

In June 2024, the launch of Astra 1P by SpaceX, originally scheduled for 17 June, was delayed twice by unfavourable weather conditions at the

launch site. On 20 June 2024, Astra 1P was successfully launched from

on a

Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon 9 Block 5 is a Reusable launch system#Partial reusable launch systems, partially reusable, human-rating certification, human-rated, two-stage-to-orbit, medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured in the United States by SpaceX. I ...

rocket, the first Astra satellite to be launched by

. For the second half of 2024, using its all-electric thrusters, Astra 1P took several months to reach geostationary orbit. In December 2024 the satellite completed testing at 9.5° West and was then moved to 19.2° East to begin service in January 2025. Starting in February 2025, all broadcast channels were moved off

and

to Astra 1P in preparation for the older satellites' retirement, and Astra 1L was moved from the 19.2°E orbital slot to 19.4° East in March 2025.''19.2E''
KingOfSat. Accessed 29 April 2025

References

External links

SES fleet information and mapOfficial SES site
{{Orbital launches in 2024 Astra satellites Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites of Luxembourg

Satellite description

Broadcasting reach

History

See also

References

External links