SES Sirius, formerly called Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) was the owner and operator of the two

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

satellites, which provide the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

and the

Baltic state The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

s, with TV, radio, data and communications solutions. The company is today entirely owned and controlled by

SES SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to: Business and economics * Socioeconomic status * Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland * SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia) * SES S.A., ...

and has no independent existence. The 2004 SES Annual Report states that 16.4 million homes received broadcast and broadband services from the Sirius system, 1.5 million from the satellites directly and another 14.9 million from cable networks distributing content via Sirius.

History

In 1982 the governments of Sweden and Norway formed NSAB as part of a wide-ranging partnership for the purpose of "telecommunication satellite cooperation". In 1989 the two governments agreed to end their partnership, the Swedish government assumed full ownership with the acquisition of Norway's 15% share. On April 2, 1989 NSAB's first satellite, the

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale (), sometimes styled Aerospatiale, was a French state-owned aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société nationale industrielle aérospatiale ( ...

built

Tele-X Tele-X was the first communications satellite serving the Nordic countries. It was launched with an Ariane 2 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana, on 2 April 1989. On 16 January 1998, its fuel was exhausted and it was moved into graveyard o ...

, was launched on an

Ariane 2 Ariane 2 was a European expendable space launch vehicle, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) between 1986 and 1989 as part of Ariane family of rockets. The principal manufacturer for the Ariane 2 was Aérospatiale, while the lead agency ...

rocket from French Guiana. The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) was contracted to operate the TELE-X system and in 1993 the company acquired the Swedish government's shares, becoming the sole owner. In late 1993 NSAB acquired Marco Polo 1, a Hughes 376 geostationary communications satellite, from British Sky Broadcasting. Marco Polo 1 was built for and operated by

British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...

. However following that company's collapse it merged with Sky Television to form BSkyB. In this "merger" Sky was the dominant force and their system of transponder lease from SES' Astra satellites was maintained. Marco Polo 1 (and its sister satellite) were gradually withdrawn from service. In February 1994

Teracom Teracom Group AB is a Swedish state-owned company that delivers information and communication services aimed at operators of essential functions within the Swedish civilian and military systems. Teracom was established in 1992 as a spin-off from ...

acquired a 50% share of NSAB. The same month Marco Polo 1 re-entered service as Sirius 1 at 5°E. In July 1994 NSAB agreed the purchase of Sirius 2 from Aérospatiale (later

Alcatel Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

). The satellite was successfully launched on November 12, 1997 by

Ariane 4 The Ariane 4 was a European expendable space launch system, developed by the ''Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arian ...

rocket. Shortly after launch SES signed a lease agreement for all transponders on the satellite. In 1996

Tele Danmark TDC Holding A/S or TDC Group (formerly Tele Danmark Communications) is a Danish telecommunications company dating back to 1879. TDC Group is the largest telecommunications company in Denmark. The company's headquarters are located in Copenhagen ...

acquired a 25% share in NSAB from Teracom. In May 1997 NSAB ordered a Hughes 376HP, the satellite was successfully launched on October 5, 1998, again by Ariane 4 rocket. In October 2000 SES acquired the shares of Tele Danmark and Teracom to become 50-50 joint owner with SSC. SES increased its shareholding to 75% in December 2003, and renamed the company to SES Sirius on December 1, 2005. In January 2008, SES further increased its shareholding in SES Sirius to 90%. In March 2010 SES (as then subsidiary SES Astra) took full control and in June 2010 the company was renamed SES Astra and the only fully operational satellite,

Sirius 4 Sirius was a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5.0° East in geostationary orbit (GEO) by NSAB (later SES Sirius, and now a non-autonomous part of SES S.A., owner and operator of the Astra satellites). They carried digi ...

, renamed

Astra 4A Astra 4A is one of the Astra communications satellites owned and operated by SES at the Astra 5°E orbital slot providing digital television and radio broadcasts, data, and interactive services to Nordic countries, eastern Europe and sub-Saharan ...

External links

SES
- Official SES site
SES fleet information

Sources

Nordic Satellite AB - HistorySES ASTRA TAKES FULL OWNERSHIP OF SES SIRIUS - Press ReleaseSES SIRIUS TO BE RENAMED SES ASTRA - Press Release
{{authority control SES S.A. Communications satellite operators Satellite television Government-owned companies of Sweden Science and technology in Sweden Norway–Sweden relations